A Welsh food wholesaler that “cares passionately” about its workers is one of the best places to work in the UK – and that’s official.

Harlech Foodservice, which has bases in Criccieth, Chester, Carmarthen, Aberbargoed, and Telford, has been included in the Sunday Times prestigious list of the best employers in 2025.

Delighted staff say they’re not at all surprised because they all feel part of the family owned firm.

The good news came hot on the heels of another accolade when Harlech was recently crowned by The Caterer magazine as the best wholesaler in the UK.

The Sunday Times judges said: “This family-owned catering supplier cares passionately about the morale of its 245-strong workforce.

“Teamwork is encouraged by management and this is felt key to the company’s wider success.

“Colleagues are motivated to have a say, making them feel valued, and last year almost 20 per cent were promoted from within the business.

“Benefits include staff discounts and a pension scheme, cycle-to-work, a wellbeing programme and a well-regarded Christmas hamper.”

Staff said they agreed with the assessment that Harlech Foodservice was among the best places to work in the country.

Morgan Jones, warehouse manager at the firm’s headquarters near Criccieth, said the opportunity of long-term employment and training at the company meant many young people didn’t have to move away from the area to find a satisfying career.

Morgan joined the firm as a part-time van driver’s assistant aged just 16.

Eleven years later he now has a key role within the company’s operations.

He has bought a home in Nefyn, something he says he would have been unlikely to be able to afford if he hadn’t been able to develop his career at Harlech Foodservice.

“I first joined when I was looking for a part-time summer job while I was still in school,” said Morgan.

“I went off to university but didn’t like it all, the course or uni life, so came back.

“Harlech offered me a job when I came back, I took it, and things grew from there.

“I am not at all surprised Harlech has been named one of the best places to work.

“I’ve worked here since I was 16 so I clearly like working here.

“Promotion within the company has not just been possible, but strongly encouraged.

“It helps a lot that the company has been developing and growing so quickly, especially the last few years, which means we need the extra staff.

“The roles are coming up because the company is growing and the positions are being created, rather than someone leaving the business.

“The growth means there is path forward for the staff, there is a path upwards.

“Having a career in our neck of the woods is not very easy at all unfortunately.

“A lot of people my age have moved away from the area because they want a career.

“Everyone says it’s a beautiful area, and we all have very strong roots here, very strong Welsh ties.

“But it reaches a point where, because of house prices for example, and you need a mortgage, that you need a well-paid job, one with career prospects.

“Unfortunately, there are just not that many well-paid careers around here, which is why companies such as Harlech are so important.”

Managing director David Cattrall said the listing in the Sunday Times was great recognition for the firm.

He said: “I am chuffed to bits quite honestly.

“We have been driving sales growth in the last couple of years and to make it happen we knew the first thing we had to do was invest in our people, and strengthen our people from top to bottom.

“The fact that we have done that and a short time later we have been recognised on our first attempt when being measured by the Sunday Times and WorkL is terrific.

“The staff have fed back that we genuinely are a great place to work, so we are very pleased.

“It was the team that gave us the feedback and it is done anonymously.”

David said one of the company’s strengths was that it remained family-owned.

He said: “What we try to maintain as we grow is that small business feeling where everybody knows each other.

“We want people to be able to speak to each other, it’s that small family feel that we are trying to maintain.

“We don’t want to lose that informality you get in a small business.

“We also recognise from the feedback that we are doing a pretty good job on the whole but there’s room to improve. What we are working on is what can we do better.

“I’m very keen on making sure that new opportunities are offered to people within the company first, so they can grow and prosper.

“We are really keen that we try to grow and develop our own people, that is our culture.”

The Sunday Times accolade follows a national honour for the firm earlier this year – when it was named the best food wholesaler in the UK.

Zoe Thomas, editor of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work, said: “The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list is the UK’s biggest survey of employee engagement, compiled in partnership with workplace expert WorkL.

“Spanning a raft of sectors and located throughout the UK, the organisations in this year’s list range from innovative start-ups with a handful of employees to big multinational corporations staffed by thousands.

“These organisations know that happy employees are the superpower helping them thrive.”