Deli Opens Concession in House of Fraser

The business has been producing jams, chutneys and pickles for nearly two years, and has owned a deli site since January of this year.

Kerry Meanwell, founder of Waltham Kitchen said, “We started out from home making jams, chutneys, pickles and luxury condiments – things like Pimms and strawberry, Blackberry & Sloe Gin, and for Christmas we have a white peach, champagne and edible glitter jam – things you wouldn’t normally find in a supermarket.”

“We used to sell them purely through delicatessen, then we found that there was quite a lot of demand and we ran out of space. We took possession of quite a large space which allowed us to produce the items on site and sell our produce at the front. In the store we sell local Lincolnshire crisps,  and we import foods from across Europe including Spanish honey and stuffed figs. At the moment we’re just selling our preserves, but come Christmas we’ll also be selling hampers and festive foods.

“House of Fraser approached us – I was in contact with the lady who was running the homewares department at the time, and she suggested demonstrating our products in a homewares event. After the event people were asking if they could buy our products in House of Fraser, and together with the store manager she put together a franchise agreement which allowed us to sell or items there.

“It’s taken quite a while to come to fruition, but there’s now a precedent – the same happened to a cupcake producer in the Lincoln branch. We’ve just taken on an apprentice at House of Fraser, and we’re considering on a new member of staff in the new year.”