Michael Haughton worked for 27 years with Kimpton Brothers of London and for the last 12 years as Managing Director. After leaving Kimpton Brothers he set up Beacon Commodities, one of whose activities was to act as a food consultant to manufacturers and exporters.
At Kimpton Brothers he established a department to import and distribute dried fruits, nuts, pulses and seeds. The customer base was food manufacturing, dry packing, canning and pet food and he gained first hand experience of selling direct to end users and packers.
He was responsible for Evans, Gray & Hood, a subsidiary of Kimpton Brothers, which was a spice trading and milling company. Here he developed the milling department to reach production of over 750 metric tons of curry powder per annum and additional tonnage of single spice powders.
He was also responsible for the importation of retail packaged goods entering the UK, which included foods manufactured within the EU and rest of the world. He worked as a food consultant, advised manufacturers on the processing requirements needed for importation, packaging, labelling and on their marketing campaign. Initially the products were ethnic foods for the local market, to ethnic Cash & Carry and Wholesalers. The goods were later introduced to the mainstream wholesalers, both retail and catering.
One of the foreign manufacturers was keen to be listed in the major multiplies and this was achieved with leading multiples. To achieve this, Michael negotiated the listing fees, promotions, merchandising, distribution and advertising.
He now acts as a food consultant, advising companies on how to enter the UK and EU markets with their packaged foods – advising them on what they need to do in their processing, labelling, marketing, logistics and food regulations to gain entry to these markets.
If you are interested in getting your products into these markets, Michael will be able to discuss your ideas using his depth of knowledge. Contact or on +44 1473 810 107.