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How a pivot to pet food after the 1970s oil crisis reshaped a family farm
Fold Hill Food’ s( Fold Hill) roots stretch back over 100 years. Originally, Fold Hill was a mixed farm with sheep and cattle grazing alongside fields of vegetables and cereals. Ben Mankertz, Managing Director, shares a more detailed overview of its evolution:“ We’ re a familyowned business established in 1979 by the Grant family. It began when the family farm’ s operation began to struggle in the late 1970s because of the oil crisis. Drying the arable crops relied heavily on oil. When prices surged, it quickly became uneconomical to continue.” Serendipity stepped in when Ted Grant OBE, the original owner, was exploring his options.
“ He ended up being seated next to a pet food company owner at a dinner function. He was unable to expand his business because it was landlocked by other buildings in the area.
“ The two of them hit it off and struck a deal. If Ted installed an oven on site, then his new contact would buy the dog biscuits off him. That’ s how the business was conceived. A few years later, the pet food company went out of business. At that point, Ted had an oven but didn’ t have any customers. So, he contacted salespeople that had links with convenience stores and supermarkets who had some success with own-label supply for other areas but didn’ t have a pet food
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