Valentine’s Day: Sprinkling Love Along the Supply Chain

Valentine’s Day is associated with red roses, heart shaped selection boxes and dark chocolate truffles. So, it’s no surprise that our ingredients such as fudge, marshmallows, biscuits and chocolate crumb are even more loved by our end-consumers at this time of year. At Meadow, we know that to keep providing the best quality ingredients, we have to keep spreading the love along our supply chain, making sure that sustainable practices and animal welfare are kept in mind.

Valentine’s Day treats

This Valentine’s Day, trends suggest that consumers are looking to spice up their tastebuds. Our Meadow inclusions and confectionery range provides fun and fresh ingredients that spark consumer attention. Popular products such as our colourful sugar pearls, popping candy and crunchy meringues are not only feasts for the eyes, but also provoke a multisensory experience.

Of course, Valentine’s Day would be incomplete without some chocolate indulgence. At Meadow, we are proud to be the only UK Independent manufacturer of chocolate crumb, the secret ingredient to giving British milk chocolate its delicious, distinctive taste.

As well as providing great tasting products, we understand the importance of an ethical supply chain and it’s because of the work we put into this that our ingredients are of the highest standard.

Sourcing our milk with care

Keeping cows fit, healthy and happy is crucial when sourcing milk ethically and sustainably. Cows are sentient beings and things like stress, discomfort and disease can reduce both their milk quality and yield.

As part of our commitment to protecting our UK herds, we make sure that all our farms where milk is sourced are approved members of The Red Tractor Dairy Scheme, the Farm Assured Welsh Livestock Beef and Lamb Scheme (FAWL) and the Quality Meat Scotland Cattle and Sheep Scheme. These accreditations make sure that our farms follow animal friendly and sustainable practices. This ensures that our cows are well looked after and kept free from hunger, thirst, discomfort and disease.

Giving back to our farmers

Farmers are at the heart of everything we do. We rely on our dairy farms to produce over 450 million litres of milk per year to supply some of the world’s most loved food brands. We depend so much on our farmers, so it’s important that our farmers know that they can depend on us too. In giving back to our farmers, we offer expert guidance, insight and recommendations seven days a week from our Farm Team. At Meadow, we are committed to helping our farmers grow with us sustainably and put an eco-friendly strategy at the forefront of our advice. In addition, our Farmer Engagement Programme allows our farmers to meet face-to-face with us so that they can build a support network, work collaboratively, and discuss queries in an open and honest environment.

Whilst we support our farmers with agricultural practicalities, it is also important that we look after the mental well-being of farmers. Farming is a high-pressure vocation that requires long hours. Unfortunately, in today’s landscape, statistics show that 92% of farmers under 40 claim that poor mental health is the biggest hidden problem they face. To help support this, all of our Farm team have received Mental Health Training from the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution.

At Meadow, we love providing our customers with the sweet treats they know and love. To find out more click here.