Food & drink manufacturing
Herefordshire has a long-standing reputation for high-quality food and drink manufacturing, combining deep agricultural roots with nationally recognised brands and a fast-growing artisan scene.
The sector is one of the county’s largest employers and a major driver of exports, attracting inward investment and supporting a resilient local supply chain built around farming, processing, logistics and specialist services.
Global brands
Several iconic brands were founded in Herefordshire and remain strongly rooted in the county today.
Heineken-owned Bulmers continues to produce cider in Hereford, drawing on a heritage that helped make the city synonymous with large-scale cider making and orchard-based innovation. Westons Cider, established in 1880 at Much Marcle, still crafts cider using locally grown bittersweet and bittersharp apples, maturing the product in traditional oak vats to preserve its distinctive character and provenance.
Key heritage manufacturers
Beyond drink production, snack producer Tyrrells started life on a Herefordshire farm and remains closely associated with the county’s potato-growing strength and rural identity.
Other notable manufacturers with significant local operations include Avara Foods and Cargill Meats in poultry and meat processing, Ornua Ingredients in dairy, and Wye Valley Brewery in Stoke Lacy, which has built a strong reputation for cask and bottled ales linked to the region’s landscape.
Strengths in the county
Herefordshire’s food and drink sector benefits from a rare combination of fertile land, strong branding around provenance, and highly integrated supply chains.
The county’s image of orchards, hop fields and pasture underpins powerful origin stories for cider, dairy, meat and speciality products, allowing businesses to market Herefordshire as a shorthand for quality, rural authenticity and traceability in UK and international markets.
Supporting independents
Herefordshire also has a high concentration of small producers and self‑employed food entrepreneurs, contributing to a dense ecosystem of more than 120 independent food and drink businesses.
These include cheesemakers, bakers, craft brewers and distillers. This mix of large anchor manufacturers and smaller niche producers gives the sector both scale and agility, with opportunities for collaboration on ingredients, branding, tourism and export activity.
Growing areas
Around Hereford and market towns such as Ledbury and Leominster, there is a rising cluster of artisan and speciality producers.
Local strategies have identified scope for a dedicated food and drink research, development and innovation facility to support new product development and advanced processing techniques. The region is also expanding in contract manufacturing and packaging, supporting both local brands and national clients looking for flexible, high‑quality production partners. Hereford Contract Canning, for example, has invested in modern high‑speed canning lines that serve beers, ciders and soft drinks, as well as fast‑growing categories such as canned wines, hard seltzers and ready‑to‑drink cocktails, helping brands bring new formats to market quickly.