Defined by passion, Griffiths Family Foods boasts one of UK farming’s greatest family legacies
Nestled in the idyllic Shropshire countryside, the Griffiths Family are egg farmers (through Oaklands Farm Eggs) and processors (via Griffiths Family Foods), with a distinguished family legacy and a big heart. The company was established in 1955 by husband-and-wife team, John Aled Griffiths (OBE) and Olwen Griffiths – remarkable individuals whose passion for farming has propelled the business to great success.
Today, Griffiths Family have a number of businesses, with Oaklands Farm Eggs managed by Elwyn and Gareth Griffiths, who represent the company’s second
generation. Determination and dedication continue to drive the business, which delivers an extensive range of top-quality egg products – all produced with the highest standards of animal welfare and food safety. In 2025, we honor the legacy of Founder Aled Griffiths, who sadly passed away earlier this year. A true pioneer in the farming industry, Aled was Chairman of the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) and the NFU Poultry Committee, as well as an honorary governor of Harper Adams University, and he was most recently awarded the prestigious Dennis Wellstead Award from the International Egg Commission (IEC) in Tokyo. Without a doubt, Aled’s impressive legacy will continue to inspire young farmers for many more years to come.
Food Chain sits down with Company Directors, Elwyn and Andrew Griffiths, to learn more about Griffiths Family’s heritage and the key factors driving its continued success. Elwyn begins our conversation by offering insight into how Aled and Olwen’s passion and perseverance inspired his and Gareth’s approach to leadership and how the business mitigates new challenges presented by an increasingly tumultuous macroeconomic landscape.
“Our father, Aled Griffiths, recently passed away at the good age of 95. Our current business reflects how our parents started out – with nothing but a dream, a vision, and a work ethic to achieve,” Elwyn shares. “Over the years, we’ve invested in innovation and new technology, and travelled to all parts of the world, adopting science-based knowledge and being open-minded to change. We’ve borrowed money and reinvested our own profits into expanding and evolving the business, which has given us the flexibility to adapt to the unstable world that we live in. It’s important that the next generation can grasp all of the different parts of the business so we can cooperate and form close trading partners to secure our future. We’re going to continue to lead by example, support and find the best in our people and allow them to grow with us. It’s all about working hard, playing hard, and enjoying what you do.”
Organic acquisition
Today, Griffiths Family Foods offers a wide variety of UK-sourced, British Lion shelled and liquid egg products to an ever-increasing scope of B2B customers. Alongside its traditional whole shelled eggs, the company supplies a multitude of different liquid egg products in various forms, from 25-ton bulk tankers for manufacturing companies right through to ten kilogram bags and gable top cartons for foodservice and wholesale.
As of October 1st, Griffiths Family Foods was thrilled to announce its exciting new joint venture with Eureden, a large agri-food co-operative based in Brittany, France. The venture sees the formation of the E&G Sales Company to create the largest offering of egg products available in the marketplace. Through E&G Sales Company, customers can source everything from poached, fried, and soft boiled eggs to pancakes, French toast, gourmet omelets, and more. This joint venture comes closely after Griffiths Family Foods’ acquisition of Framptons’ egg division in 2024, which has allowed the company to further expand its horizons off the back of a longstanding, pre-existing partnership.
“After supplying Framptons with eggs for over 30 years, the opportunity to purchase their egg division allowed us to strategically position ourselves into the added-value market,” Elwyn explains. “This acquisition ensured that we inherited the IP to allow us to seamlessly produce the same high quality omelets and liquid egg that customers had become so accustomed to. Our hens lay fresh eggs every day, so the acquisition of a value-added business in a rapidly expanding convenience market futureproofs the company for years to come.”
Sustainable systems
As the company continues to grow, one of the family’s greatest strengths remains its vertically integrated business model. From rearing new chicks on its own farm in a multi-tiered, RSPCA-approved rearing facility to packing, processing, and transporting products, the company’s operations promise security and traceability, encapsulating quality, care, and exceptional supply chain management.
“Our approach is centered around producing fresh eggs through sustainable systems and processes,” Andrew elaborates. “We are in control of all aspects of our operation, from rearing day-old chicks to point of lay, packaging eggs, and then delivering the product direct to the customer. All of our sites are BRC and Lion, approved, and we strategically partner with businesses who share similar values to us.”
This comprehensive approach is paired with a thoughtful investment strategy; the company constantly reinvests into the business to drive greater operational efficiency. At present, Griffiths Family Foods is placing particular emphasis on upscaling and upgrading its contract packing capabilities as a key part of its wider investment program. In addition, the business has also invested heavily in sustainability and has made significant strides to reduce its environmental impact.
“We have been early adopters and innovators of sustainable technologies, utilizing manure as an organic fertilizer to grow crops, harvesting rainwater, and investing in solar panels,” Elwyn says. “More recently, Griffiths Green Enterprise was formed to launch a state-of-the-art manure burning project, whereby we burn chicken manure to produce one megawatt of energy to power our site and sell the surplus back to the grid,” Andrew adds. “This process produces Potash as a bi-product, which we can then sell as a high-value fertilizer. On the liquid processing side, we also sell waste liquid egg for pet food and recycle dry egg shell as a crop nutrient.”
Expanding product portfolio
As 2025 draws to a close, Elwyn and Andrew are optimistic for the future, building on another successful year for Griffiths Family Foods. “Since our acquisition of Framptons’ egg division back in January 2024, we’ve been extremely busy building out the rest of the factory – which is inside an old World War Two hangar – and installing new equipment to ensure that the business is ready to produce value-added products. Now that the factory is up and running, we are entering a period of consolidation to ensure that the business continues to operate at a sustainable level and that our workforce – which has quintupled in the last year – have all the support they need,” Andrew affirms. “From a sales and marketing perspective, there are some really exciting opportunities to develop E&G Sales Company in all sectors of the marketplace whilst we’re working on some further NPD projects.
“Moving away from eggs slightly, we will be starting milkshake production in November, which will mark the first non-egg-related product produced at Griffiths Family Foods,” he reveals. “We will also be actively pursuing contract pack opportunities to fill other products on our state-of-the-art Galdi gable top filling line.”
Building on its existing legacy and success, Griffiths Family Foods is well-positioned for a profitable 2026 and aims to further expand its contract packing operations, for which its new joint venture with Eureden will be key. In turn, the business will continue to grow, following new opportunities and advocating for the very highest standards of food safety, sustainability, and animal welfare – inspired by Aled’s leadership and the very passion that set the business apart all those years ago.