At a dinner party in 2003, whilst savouring a glass of the finest Irish whiskey, Martin Hamilton spoke to his host and friend Tony Reid. He dreamed of setting up a production facility on his own farm to produce Champ. After much discussion, determination and hard work ,one year later that dream had become a reality. A small factory had been built and the company Mash Direct Ltd had been formed. Mash Direct now leads the market producing an innovative range of delicious quick-serve mashed potato, vegetable and cabbage products. There are no artificial additives, preservatives or colourings in our products - just the taste and texture of homemade food. All Mash Direct vegetables are grown, steam cooked and packaged here on the farm. We distribute our products throughout the UK, Ireland and beyond and our products are available in most major supermarkets.
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Martin and Tracy on the Savoy Cabbage Field
Martin and his wife and business partner Tracy had been successfully growing and selling vegetables for over 20 years. Martin himself is a fifth generation son of the soil. They decided to return to the traditional tastes their mothers and grandmothers used to know, now almost lost. Using vegetable varieties grown for taste - not appearance - they developed a small plant on the farm to recreate a traditional cooking style. A number of pieces of equipment were commissioned and specially built including a unique masher and a steam cooker.
Martin Hamilton And His Sons Working To Get The First Ever Mash Direct Crop Harvested
We live in a world where families often have multiple wage earners leaving less time for food preparation. ‘Five a day’ has driven a move towards healthier prepared options and this has developed a niche for healthy convenience food. Martin and Tracy Hamilton spotted this opportunity early, spurred on by the need to diversify the farm. They developed the market through independent retail stores followed by progression into all the major supermarkets. Mash Direct is available as far away as Sweden and as nearby as your nearest shop.
The real core of the success of Mash Direct is the passion and dedication of the staff at every level: production; administration; technical; product development; marketing and management. The result is a company which is able to meet its customers’ demands whether large or small. We respond to consumer trends as well as delivering the personal touch – without compromise to the quality of the product.
We are extremely passionate about our products. We are perfectionists when it comes to the sourcing and traceability of additional raw materials. All Mash Direct products carry the healthy ‘traffic light’ on the sleeve, as recommended by the Food Standards Agency. Mash Direct follows the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) standards set by The British Retail Consortium and has recently been awarded the grade ‘A’ in this standard – a testament to our commitment. We believe that customer satisfaction and quality are the core values of our success as an innovative and reliable food company.