Newtown based honey producer, Hilltop has been recognised as one of Wales’s fastest growing companies in this year’s Wales Fast Growth 50 List, 2020.
From the list of 50 firms, collectively generating £476m in revenues and employing nearly 2,600 people in 2019, Hilltop ranked at 20 championing a growth of 194.8% (2017-2019).
Launched in 1999 by Prof Dylan Jones-Evans, Wales’ Fast Growth 50,2020 is the definitive guide to the fastest growing indigenous firms in the Welsh economy. The determining factor for inclusion is revenue growth from 2017-19 with firms requiring sales of at least £250,000.
Hilltop have also recently been ranked 26 in the 24th annual Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 league which ranks Britain’s private companies with the fastest growing sales. Hilltop has grown sales 79% a year to £11.7m in the year to August, helped by consumers stocking up when the pandemic first stuck.
This year, Hilltop Honey rebranded as Hilltop with a brand new look and logo, and branched out into maple syrups. Its maple syrup is completely natural, runny goodness in an easy squeezy, recyclable bottle. The taste, colour and aroma from season-to-season is subtly different, as the maple flavour matures over time. Flavours include Amber & Rich or Very Dark & Strong.
Hilltop is based at a 14,000 sq ft facility in Newtown, mid Wales and employs 51 staff. The company produces a brand of pure and natural honey with the overall mission to help food consumers learn that ‘there’s more to honey’.
The business started in 2011, after owner and founder Scott Davies discovered his passion for beekeeping as a means of therapy following a back injury that left him unable to continue his previous laborious nature of work. During this time, Scott got his first hive as a birthday gift and became fascinated with bees. He started selling honey to friends and to local shops, then after two years he started supplying farm shops and delis across the country.
“We are extremely proud that Hilltop is included in both the 2020 top 50 fastest growing businesses in Wales and the Sunday Times Atlantic Fast Track 100” comments Scott.
“It is testament to the dedication and hard work of the team at Hilltop that the company continues to grow and thrive, particularly in light of the challenges faced by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Consumers have really bought into the Hilltop brand and ethos in recent years, as we deliver premium quality honey in jars and bottles which are recyclable. There’s also a real demand at the moment for a natural, healthier alternative to refined sugars in all sorts of cooking, from breakfast options to savoury dishes and baking.”
In 2014, Hilltop secured listings in Sainsbury’s, Holland & Barrett, Selfridges and on Amazon and Ocado. The company quickly expanded its range to include speciality and Manuka honey along with bee pollen and delicious cut comb. All its products are available in reusable glass jars or recyclable squeeze bottles.
After receiving the Soil Association seal of approval in 2015, Hilltop launched a new range of organic honey.
Congratulating the company on its success, Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths said:
“The food and drink sector in Wales is a crucial part of the Welsh economy, and we are committed to supporting its growth and development.
“It is clear that we need more than ever to celebrate the hard work, innovation and determination of our Welsh businesses, especially in these challenging times. Many of our businesses have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and yet have survived, recovered and started to grow again.”
“We should all be proud of the success that Hilltop, as well as all the other businesses that have made the Wales Fast Growth 50 list, and I wish them all every success for the future.”
Hilltop diverse range of honey products are all made of pure and natural honey, with nothing added and nothing taken away. Each individual product is unique in its own way – from the colour right down to aroma notes and flavour.
Hilltop products are available in the UK’s leading supermarkets, farm shops and delis.
