Devon-based Rare & Pasture and Tempus Foods in Surrey have announced a merger, as the two producers aim to expand production and boost sales of their ranges.
The two companies said that by consolidating their expertise and facilities, they will be creating production capabilities and be operating at a scale that will be unique in the British charcuterie space.
Following the merger, the businesses will continue to trade under both the Rare & Pasture and Tempus Foods brands, with sales and distribution being led from the Tempus site and production and packing shared between the two sites.
Dhruv Baker, who founded Tempus with fellow MasterChef UK finalist Tom Whitaker, is now the commercial director of the new operation.
“The growth of Tempus has been constrained in the past by the size of our production facilities and our access to working capital,” he said. “By combining with Rare & Pasture, we remove these bottlenecks and position ourselves to better serve the fast-growing UK charcuterie market.”
Baker added that the new business would continue to produce the ranges that both brands were known for, as well as expanding further into other cooked meat products.
“Each side of this transaction has been hugely impressed by what the other has to offer, and we very much look forward to working together.”
Andrew Owens, chairman of Rare & Pasture, said: “The British charcuterie and artisan meat product market is highly fragmented, leading to an unnecessarily high cost base, often combined with supply reliability issues. Through this transaction we are creating greater supply capacity as well as product and customer service synergies that can accelerate the development of this evolving British food sector.
“Our mission is not restricted to either our existing geographic situation or our existing product range, and so it is hoped that this merger will also stimulate other like-minded artisan producers and farmers to offer their skills and products into our growing portfolio.”
Tempus Foods was set up in Weybridge, Surrey, in 2017 by Tom Whitaker and Dhruv Baker, both MasterChef UK finalists. Its range includes salamis and whole muscle products such as King Peter Ham, Smoked Coppa and Bresaola.
Rare & Pasture is based at Fowlescombe Farm, a regenerative farm in South Devon. It produces a range of products often using high-welfare meat from its own farm. In addition to its charcuterie, it produces a range of cooked meat products, some of them organic, including naturally smoked frankfurters.
This article first appeared in the June 2024 edition of Fine Food Digest .
