Fudge Kitchen Goes Employee Owned

For almost 40 years Fudge Kitchen has been a trailblazer in the confectionery world, driven by a simple mission, to make the world sweeter; by making nice things, while making things better along the way. 

From their multi-award-winning confectionery to the iconic retail theatre that put them on the map throughout the UK's most popular historic cities, their reputation amongst customers and other confectioners alike is one they're, justifiably, extremely proud of.

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Fudge Kitchen reaffirmed the three pillars upon which their business is built. Their product, the planet, and the people who made the company what it is today.

With the future and the sustainability of the business kept firmly in mind, MD Sian Holt decided made this year to ensure Fudge Kitchen would be in the best hands to deliver their future mission. As of October 28th, Fudge Kitchen has been an employee-owned business.

Through an Employee Ownership Trust, Fudge Kitchen hopes to ensure that as a purpose-driven business they're able to continue delivering on their mission whilst affording all their staff greater equity in the business.

In Sian's words, “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 a 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.”

Employee ownership is one of the UKs fastest-growing business succession solutions. In fact there are now in excess of 1,000 employee-owned businesses, with the sector more than doubling in the past three years. 

James de le Vingne, who is the CEO of the Employee Ownership Association said: “Businesses that give employees a stake and a say build trust and shared responsibility, uniting leaders and employees behind a common purpose, and leaving businesses in a better position to flex and adapt.”

The fast pace of growth amongst businesses has taken off with the use of the employee ownership trust (EOT), introduced by the government in 2014 to encourage long-term employee ownership, and one in every 20 private company sales is now to an EOT, with Fudge Kitchen joining a network of EOTs in the UK that include Richer Sounds and Go Ape.

As Fudge Kitchen stands on the cusp of their 40th year, this is an exciting time for everyone at Fudge Kitchen and the whole team are looking forward to all the sweet things that are yet to come!