Family bakery given King's Award for sustainability
BBCA 100-year-old family bakery has been given a King's Award for Enterprise thanks to its sustainable ethos.
Hobbs House Bakery, in Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, chooses its ingredients carefully, considering whether the farmer is working to increase soil biodiversity and how they are trying to make their crops nutritious.
The B Corp certified business also works hard to be ethical in areas such as employment practices and waste reduction.
"We as a family business have quite strong values, particularly around our people and our culture, but also around sustainability," said sales director Henry Herbert.
The branch in Chipping Sodbury has been there for 40 years, but the business was started in the 1920s.
It was formerly known as Herbert's Bakery, when Mr Herbert's great-grandparents began baking.
Sam Wells, Mr Herbert's uncle, grew up in Wickwar, Gloucestershire, knowing he wanted to become a baker too.
"I really enjoyed baking and the whole process of making something from nothing into this beautiful product that you can then sell to people who can go home and enjoy it," he said.
Mr Herbert, who is from Stroud, Gloucestershire, also baked from a young age, starting work with his uncle when he was just 11.
Every week, they make 150,000 products and use 20 tonnes of flour.
Over the years, the family have become more and more focused on sustainability.
"If we're building something for the next generation, let's try and be responsible," Mr Herbert said.
The team is aiming to source 100% of its grain from organic or regeneratively farmed land by 2032.
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