Innovation is at the heart of most of what our teams get up to across the business. From creating delicious sweet and savoury baked goods and developing soups with flavours from all around the world, to making award winning pies and tasty sauces – even mixing specialist blends of animal feed – each arm of our business’ have creativity at their core. With over 160 years at the forefront of the industry, our team of passionate foodies, chefs, nutritionists and innovators create products that set The Billington Group apart from competition.
Our market research teams collect and sift through mountains of data from all kinds of sources, including Kantar and social media, guiding the early stages of our innovation strategies. Sometimes it can be as simple as reading an article in a magazine, sparking an idea – you never know where inspiration can strike! Our researchers highlight any trends our NPD teams need to be aware of, including any shifts in consumer behaviour and key ingredients that are causing a stir on the foodie landscape.
At our Billington Barn and Kitchen in Birmingham, we showcase our recipe and product developments to our customers, as well as collaborate with them through innovation sessions to create fully bespoke recipes, tailored to their culinary needs. From sauces, soups and deli salads, to pies, puds and pasta dishes, we supply a delicious range of products that we’re continuously adding to.
Our innovators at TSC foods have been creating quality chilled soups and sauces for more than two decades! From mass-market budget ranges, to leading UK restaurants and bistros, they cater to them all. Their innovative approach doesn’t stop in the kitchen either, packaging is always being updated and improved. They work closely with industry experts for solutions in pack communication and functional technologies, looking at areas like ease of transportation, practical methods of storage, sustainability and on-the-shelf appeal.
Glorious! Soups, one of the brands under TSC, have created a hugely popular selection of soups that take soup sippers on an adventure through food. The chefs innovate recipes incorporating classic ingredients with flavours from around the world. Glorious! recently launched a new range of sauce kits they designed to make eating healthy and tasty dishes at home super simple, quick and easy.
Over at the English Provender Company, their development chefs have created so many wonderful recipes and products for customers, they kept a few for themselves, which have gone on to become household names. Their Lazy range is hugely popular, removing the need to chop garlic, ginger, chilli and a whole host of other ingredients, and making cooking with bold flavours that bit easier with their new paste pots. Sometimes the simple ideas are the best ones!
Our teams don’t just work on making delicious and nutritious food for people, our animal nutritionists over at Carrs Billington create custom food mixes for all types of livestock using innovative product development methods. Our bespoke approach means farm animals are able to have tasty food that is tailored to their dietary needs, using only the best ingredients.
Product innovation across the business has allowed us to develop our range of products we supply today, which will only continue to grow as new food trends come about. Innovation of our business processes and systems have kept us in business since 1858, and as technology changes and we identify areas for development, the Group will continue to be the best we can be, for our customers, our suppliers and our people.