Family-run food producer celebrates 40 years in business and providing the best British meats across Northampton

A family-run food producer has celebrated 40 years in business, providing the best British meats from regional farms across Northampton.

The journey of Houghton Hams, in Moulton Park Industrial Estate, began with Nigel Wagstaff’s uncle Don who worked in farming his whole life.

Don introduced Nigel to farming and he looks back on those years fondly – when he would help on the farm at weekends and assist in the local butchers during the week.

It was in 1983, with the support of his wife Jo, that Nigel took a “leap of faith” and started the Houghton Hams family business.

With Nigel’s experience in farming and butchery, and the acquisition of their secret ‘Wagstaff Complete Cure’ recipe, they began producing artisan hams and gammons from a small unit in Moulton village.

Family and passion have been at the core of the business from the beginning. They always select the best regional UK and European based farms, to produce quality meat products to strict standards.

The business still operates from Moulton and is under the careful management of the Wagstaff family – Nigel, Jo and their four children Paul, Julie, Linda and Sarah.

Open seven days a week from premises 10 times the size of their initial unit in 1983, the family employs up to 100 people from all over the world. They make up the extended Houghton Hams family.

Director and founder Nigel spoke to the Chronicle & Echo to mark the milestone and described the difficult times the business was set up in, with high interest rates and in the middle of a recession.

“We did things day by day, let alone the week, month or year,” he said. “It wasn’t a time when lots of local people were starting businesses, so it seemed an opportunity.

“It was a time when people were taking on more responsibility, and growing their families and businesses.”

Nigel shared how fortunate he was to have Jo’s support and the fact they had four children, who are all now involved in the business.

“Without our four children and my wife, we couldn’t have done it,” he said, also drawing on the loyal members of staff who have supported them along the way.

Nigel described the Houghton Hams brand as their “friend for the past 40 years” and the fact their unique ham recipe, Wagstaff Complete Cure, has been their “point of difference”.

“You need a point of difference,” said Nigel. “We have a family image and prominence in the way we go about our work.

“It was a good building block and has been fundamental in growing the business.”

There are a number of customers who have remained loyal for the full, or best part, of the past four decades.

Nigel said: “You can’t do it without the loyalty of customers and suppliers.”

The Wagstaff family welcomed staff, customers and suppliers to celebrate the milestone with them over the weekend.

They were treated to live music, a three-course meal from a well-renowned chef and a disco into the evening.

Having raised £32,000 for an incubator for premature babies at the hospital’s Gosset Ward in the past, Nigel took the opportunity to raise some more during the celebration evening.

“As a family, we’ve lived in Northampton all our lives and we’re traditional Northampton people,” he said. “We’ve supported charities and sports teams whilst building our business.

“There aren’t many national companies with their own family brand in the high street, producing products like we are.”

Nigel’s proudest achievement of the past four decades has been growing his family and seeing them get involved in the business.

However, the growth of Houghton Hams has not come without its challenges – namely the pandemic and Brexit.

Nigel described how the main part of what they offer, catering, “fell to the wayside” and it was online retail that picked up.

Brexit has also had an impact on the trading patterns they now experience.

Looking to the future, Nigel said: “We’d be naive and silly if we didn’t take one day at a time.”

Houghton Hams has “incurred exceptional increases in costs”, particularly for electricity, gas and raw materials like pork.

“There’s always a challenge around the corner,” Nigel added.

The business director acknowledged just how far the family has come, expanding from one building to 12 and having a “substantially” higher turnover than when they first started out.

With a big increase in sales, they have hired more staff and taken on more buildings to accommodate the “organic growth” – as Nigel admits they have not attempted to “challenge the market”.

“People find comfort in a brand and the fact it’s a family business,” he said. “People know they can come and see any one of us at any time – that’s fundamental to the business.”