‘Job-for-life’ culture and strong Yorkshire values drive Tiffin Sandwiches leadership continuity in the food-to-go market
Tiffin Sandwiches (Tiffin) was founded in Bradford, Yorkshire, with one simple focus: offering people high-quality, fresh sandwiches and food-to-go products. Launching in 2000, many of the customer and industry relationships forged in Tiffin’s early days are still strong, and the local sandwich vendor has become one of the UK’s largest independent food-to-go manufacturers.
From those humble beginnings, Tiffin now serves the retail, hospitality, education, travel, business and healthcare sectors. With four factories and six distribution centres located across the UK, Tiffin has manufacturing capabilities in Bradford, Sandycroft and Glasgow, each with depots attached, and delivers a com-prehensive selection of individually packed sandwiches, wraps and specialty breads, salads, chilled hot eats and complementary products such as cakes, protein pots and sushi, offering vegan, gluten-free and halal options.
“In addition to retail, we support hospitality and food service operators with various platters and cater packs that in-house chefs can portion for their own use,” elaborates Mark Salisbury, Company Director, who sits down with Food Chain to reveal more about Tiffin. “As the business has grown, we’ve expanded our product range based on what our customers want.” Although most items fall under the Tiffin label, the company now has some bespoke clients with custom products. Notably, Tiffin also acquired Scotland’s largest independent sandwich manufacturer last year – PJ’s Foods. “We’d already had sales in Scotland, and we knew it would be desirable for those customers to have a Scottish manufacturer and supplier,” Mark notes. “Not only was this a new route to market for us, but it gave us additional premises, so it was a natural bolt-on for us to strengthen our presence in Scotland. Similarly, we acquired Street Eats Foods in Wales, which means we have a Tiffin in England, Wales and Scotland.”
After purchasing land adjacent to its Bradford site, the business is currently building 50,000-square-foot premises as part of a substantial expansion, due for completion by May 2027. “Additional space, packing premises, and lines create a blank canvas for advancing technology,” continues Mark. “We’ll have that capacity to grow and expand the range more. While these investments need to be considered carefully, we explored both our growth rates and our bottlenecks, and we felt now was the right time to build the new premises.” He reveals that increased customer numbers play an important role in technological innovations. “We’re focusing on consolidating our customers’ orders – we have a large picking operation to select each item that they request and we need space to be able to do that. We’ll also use new automation to scan those products, bring them together for customers and reduce manual handling. With fresh sandwich products, you only have a few hours for picking, so by utilizing automation such as new camera systems and scanning equipment, it’ll greatly improve efficiency.”
Putting people first
At present, one of Tiffin’s key initiatives is its MORE campaign, showcasing a commitment to continuous evolvement of its food-to-go range in response to customer demand. “Essentially, this is a bigger range with tastier choices and more innovative, sustainable packaging,” explains Mark. “MORE is built around consumers wanting convenience, variety and quality, combined with exceptional taste and the introduction of new ideas. Developing the MORE campaign is a priority for us as we grow, because we have more competition now that we’re a national supplier. Within that, we’ve launched our premium range, the Tiffin Collection.” Alongside its Tiffin Collection, which includes premium offerings such as an Italian Chicken
sandwich, the company is dedicated to diversity, with a further focus on its vegan ranges. “Plant-based options should never feel like a compromise,” states Mark. “They should be as satisfying as any other sandwich. Our continued work with specialist suppliers, and extensive internal testing to refine and ensure those products taste great when they come off the shelf, is continually necessary.”
Commitment to staff is equally important to Tiffin, as it enthusiastically implements ‘strong Yorkshire values’ within the organisation and promotes a positive workplace culture. “Having a job for life is something that’s embedded in the Tiffin culture,” elaborates Mark. “Our goal is to bring good people into the business who want to stay and grow upwards through the organisation. The majority of people on the senior leadership team have done exactly that – and those leaders are visible day-to-day in ensuring openness and honesty, allowing our people to grow and helping them build a long-term career.” This culture sits at the centre of Tiffin’s longevity, as Mark describes its people being key to 26 years of success. “We’re proudly labour intensive. Making sandwiches is not an easy process to automate, given our wide range of products and our thousands of customers. Therefore, making sure you provide the right environment and culture for your people is crucial.”
Growth trajectory
Furthermore, the company has a clear roadmap for decreasing its carbon footprint, producing sustainable packaging and approaching waste responsibly. In Wales, the factory is already 40 percent self-sufficient in using solar power electricity, and it’s successfully phasing out fossil fuels by using air source heat pumps and removing oil-fired boilers from the business. “We have a scientific understanding of where our CO2 emissions are across Scopes 1, 2, and 3,” adds Mark. “We have already reduced our Scope 2 emissions by 23 percent in the first two years, and we’re working with several environmental partners to help us reach Net Zero for all emissions by 2040. We’ve even purchased woodland behind the factory and are looking at biodiversity within that.” Sustainability is a significant part of Tiffin’s strategy over the next five years. “Our aim is to continue building a strong, sustainable organisation in the food-to-go market,” discloses Mark. “Growth will be important, but maintaining culture and leadership capability will take precedence. Additionally, product innovation is a priority for our MORE initiative, alongside construction of our new premises which will include a head office and a development kitchen. Finally, we’ll continue to pay close attention to our customer partnerships that have supported us for the past two decades. This includes crucial collaboration between customers and our in-house marketing team – the team works directly alongside sales and development departments to make sure products perform well in store. We provide point-of-sale support, such as promotional signage, fridge branding, shelf strips and meal deal posters for busy retail locations. Internal marketing is a real competitive advantage for us when it comes to customer support.
“The food-to-go market is an incredibly exciting environment to be involved in, and we’re fortunate to be positioned in the middle of it,” ends Mark. “We’ll remain focused on what is happening in that marketplace – from both a product and customer perspective – because this will enable us to recognize key developments. Keeping our finger on the pulse will allow us to continue our growth and success.”