The future of fudge is EO: Award-winning confectionery trailblazer transitions to employee ownership
The Employee Ownership Association (EOA) congratulates Fudge Kitchen after the business announced to the world it has transitioned to employee ownership.
As Fudge Kitchen stands on the cusp of its 40th year, the artisan confectionery producer has put the future of the business in the hands of the intrepid people that helped build it.
Since it was founded in 1983, Fudge Kitchen has been a trailblazer in the confectionery world, driven by a simple mission, to make the world sweeter; by producing nice things, while making things nicer along the way.
From its multi-award-winning confectionery, to the iconic retail theatre that put them on the map throughout the UK’s most popular historic cities, Fudge Kitchen’s reputation amongst customers and other confectioners alike, is one it’s extremely proud of.
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Fudge Kitchen reaffirmed the three pillars upon which its business is built – its product, the planet, and the people that made the company what it is today.
With the future and the sustainability of the business in mind, MD Sian Holt made the decision this year to ensure Fudge Kitchen would be in the best hands to deliver its mission going forward. So, Fudge Kitchen is now an employee-owned business.
Through an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), Fudge Kitchen hopes to ensure that as a purpose-driven business it is able to continue to deliver on its mission, while affording all its staff greater equity in the business.
Sian said: “You can’t make the best products without exceptional fudge makers, nor deliver amazing customer experiences and service without energised and passionate entertainers with a love of people.
“And you can’t hope to create a better business for the planet without commitment from a united community. It’s thanks to those amazing teams that we are where we are today, and who we look to for the next four decades of innovation.”
About Fudge Kitchen
In 1983, Fudge Kitchen introduced an unknown concept to the UK: creamy, premium fudge, handmade in small batches, using traditional techniques, all-natural ingredients, and decorated individually by skilled artisan hands. Fudge Kitchen hasn’t stopped trailblazing or innovating since, and never compromise on any of its core values.
Circa 10 years ago, with a string of awards, and the opening of a SALSA-accredited production site in Kent, MD Siân Holt took the company’s much-loved traditional whipping cream fudge to new heights, developing more than 70 unique products and formats in over 100 flavours. Through listening to customers, identifying emerging trends, and sourcing the finest authentic ingredients locally, and around the world, Fudge Kitchen produces a range of artisan confectionery and has received 23 Great Taste Awards since 2010.
And delegates at the EOA Annual Conference 2022 were able to taste some of these tasty treats as Fudge Kitchen supplied some of its fudge to have with teas and coffees at the end of the celebration dinner at the ACC in Liverpool on October 3.
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