A Welsh food wholesaler that \u201ccares passionately\u201d about its workers is one of the best places to work in the UK \u2013 and that\u2019s official.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Delighted staff say they\u2019re not at all surprised because they all feel part of the family owned firm.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Sunday Times judges said: \u201cThis family-owned catering supplier cares passionately about the morale of its 245-strong workforce.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeamwork is encouraged by management and this is felt key to the company\u2019s wider success.<\/p>\n
\u201cColleagues are motivated to have a say, making them feel valued, and last year almost 20 per cent were promoted from within the business.<\/p>\n
\u201cBenefits include staff discounts and a pension scheme, cycle-to-work, a wellbeing programme and a well-regarded Christmas hamper.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staff said they agreed with the assessment that Harlech Foodservice was among the best places to work in the country.<\/p>\n
Morgan Jones, warehouse manager at the firm\u2019s headquarters near Criccieth, said the opportunity of long-term employment and training at the company meant many young people didn\u2019t have to move away from the area to find a satisfying career.<\/p>\n
Morgan joined the firm as a part-time van driver\u2019s assistant aged just 16.<\/p>\n
Eleven years later he now has a key role within the company\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n
He has bought a home in Nefyn, something he says he would have been unlikely to be able to afford if he hadn\u2019t been able to develop his career at Harlech Foodservice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u00a0first joined when I was looking for a part-time summer job while I was still in school,\u201d said Morgan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went off to university but\u00a0didn\u2019t like it all, the course or uni life, so came back.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarlech offered me a job when I came back, I took it, and things grew from there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not at all surprised Harlech has been named one of the best places to work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve worked here since I was 16 so I clearly like working here.<\/p>\n
\u201cPromotion within the company has not just been\u00a0possible, but strongly encouraged.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt helps a lot that the company has been developing and growing so quickly, especially the last few\u00a0years, which means we need the extra staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe roles are coming up because the company is growing and the positions are being created, rather than someone leaving the business.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe growth means there is path forward for the staff, there is a path upwards.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a career in our neck of the woods is not very easy at all unfortunately.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people my age\u00a0have moved away from the area because they want a career.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone says\u00a0it\u2019s a beautiful area, and we all have very strong roots here, very strong Welsh ties.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, there are just not that many well-paid careers around here, which is why companies such as Harlech are so important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Managing director David Cattrall said the listing in the Sunday Times was great recognition for the firm.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI am chuffed to bits quite honestly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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\u00a0people, and strengthen our people from top to bottom.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that we have done that and\u00a0a short time later we have been recognised on our first attempt when being measured by the Sunday Times and WorkL is terrific.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe staff have fed back that we genuinely are\u00a0a great place to work, so we are very pleased.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the team that gave us the\u00a0feedback and it is done anonymously.\u201d<\/p>\n
David said\u00a0one of the company\u2019s strengths was that it remained family-owned.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWhat we try to maintain as we grow is that small business feeling where everybody knows each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want people to be able to speak to each other,\u00a0it\u2019s that small family feel that we are trying to maintain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u00a0don\u2019t want to lose that informality you get in a small business.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also recognise from the feedback that we are doing a pretty good job on the whole but there\u2019s room to improve. What we are working on is what can we do better.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very keen on making sure that new opportunities are offered to people within the company first, so they can grow and prosper.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are really keen that we try to grow and develop our own people, that is our culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sunday Times accolade follows a national honour for the firm earlier this year \u2013 when it was named the best food wholesaler in the UK.<\/p>\n
Zoe Thomas, editor of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work, said:\u00a0“The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list is the UK\u2019s biggest survey of employee engagement, compiled in partnership with workplace expert WorkL.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpanning a raft of sectors and\u00a0located throughout the UK, the organisations in this year\u2019s list range from innovative start-ups with a handful of employees to big multinational corporations staffed by thousands.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese organisations know that happy employees are the superpower helping them thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n