Langmead Herbs Acquires Waitrose Supplier R&G Fresh To Support Growth
Langmead Herbs has acquired specialist fresh cut herbs business R&G Fresh for an undisclosed sum, bringing together two family-owned businesses with operations spanning growing, importing, and packing.
Langmead said the move marks a new chapter for the Sussex-based group as it strengthens its supply chain, expands capacity, and enhances its ability to deliver exceptional products to customers.
With growing demand for high-quality, sustainably sourced ingredients, Langmead said it is “excited” about the opportunities ahead for the two family-run businesses with shared values and a commitment to quality.
Describing R&G as a “fantastic addition” to the Langmead Herbs business, Ashley Haworth, managing director of Langmead Herbs, said the acquisition made “strategic sense” given the shared family background and common cultural approach.
“In particular, we will have access to a stronger and more sustainable supply chain, great people, increased capacity and a state-of-the-art facility in Farnborough,” she commented.
Established in 1958 and with a strong reputation for innovation and sustainability, R&G Fresh operates a state-of-the-art packing facility in Farnborough.
The company is the sole supplier of fresh cut herbs to Waitrose.
R&G Fresh also has farming operations in Kenya, which provide significant investment into the local community.
Langmead Herbs, meanwhile, is an importer, grower, and packer of cut herbs, as well as a producer of glasshouse-grown potted herbs.
Its wider Langmead group of businesses has significant production operations across Suffolk and Sussex for herbs and spinach, where it has also developed strengths in water resilience, packhouse innovation, and environmental performance.
For the past 26 years R&G Fresh has been led by Mat Prestwich, who will remain as managing director following the acquisition of the business.
His continued leadership is intended to provide operational continuity and retain his expertise for the company’s customers, suppliers, and staff.
“I am very proud of the business which we have built at R&G Fresh, and I am confident that there will be further success as part of Langmead Herbs,”
Prestwich said.
“Both of these food-focused businesses provide customers and consumers with high quality products at a time when people are ever more interested in the ingredients they are using.”
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