LDC Top 50 2024
Dr Sally Beattie and Emer Bustard
Joint Managing Directors
Lazy Day Foods
Scottish food scientists Dr Sally Beattie and Emer Bustard teamed up in 2006 to launch Lazy Day Foods, producing a range of gluten-free, milk-free and egg-free vegan sweet treats. “We both suffer from food allergies and struggled to find delicious free-from goodies,” says Bustard. “We built the business believing there was a significant gap for high end free-from biscuits and cakes.”
The pair started out creating recipes from their own kitchens. Now they have their own purpose-built, dedicated free-from bakery, employing 140 people and supplying branded and private-label products to all major UK supermarkets. “We have exciting plans for future growth,” says Beattie. “From our perspective, the sky’s the limit.”
We have exciting plans for future growth. From our perspective, the sky’s the limit.”
Q&A
What was your toughest challenge?
Emer: Our journey from making handmade products in our kitchen and selling these at farmers’ markets, to supplying the supermarkets nationwide was definitely our biggest challenge. The first supermarket we signed was Waitrose in 2008. I still remember the feeling of pure joy when we dispatched the first order. The Lazy Day team now has fantastic relationships with all our customers, and there’s so much potential for further growth.
What’s been your proudest moment?
Sally: The initial plan was to outsource production so we could focus on developing recipes, but we quickly realised that we needed a dedicated free-from bakery that was completely gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free, with no nuts on site. We rented premises up until 2017 then bought our own 26,500 sq. ft bakery in Harthill, central Scotland. We reinvested our profits to buy the site and develop our state of the art facility. This was a huge step for us.
What are the benefits of running a business together?
Sally: Before starting Lazy Day Foods, we worked together at Kerry Group, and we ran a breast cancer charity called Breast Foot Forward. We’re great friends and our work ethics are completely in sync. Running a business is a lot more exciting and enjoyable with both of us sharing the responsibility.
