A Gwynedd food distribution company has created more than 70 jobs and secured contracts worth more than £1 million.

Harlech Foodservice, with branches in Criccieth, Chester, Carmarthen, Merthyr Tydfil, and Telford, has added 943 new independent customers and 243 new contract customers since April.

This achievement is part of their ongoing major expansion.

The customers range from small shops and businesses to significant local authority deals.

One such contract involves supplying drinks and snacks to Shropshire Council's catering and cleaning arm, Shire Services.

The company's venture into South and West Wales has also proven successful.

They now supply schools across Rhondda Cynon Taf and have secured contracts worth nearly £500,000 from their new depots in Carmarthen and Merthyr Tydfil.

Additionally, Harlech has signed contracts with Football League clubs Tranmere Rovers and Bristol Rovers, Everybody Health and Leisure Centres, and Hickory’s Smokehouses.

These new contracts are part of Harlech's £6 million expansion strategy, which aims to create 150 jobs over five years.

Sales director at Harlech, Mark Lawton, said: "These new contracts enable us to demonstrate the range of products we can supply and the excellent service we provide across a huge area of the country.

"We now have a real presence throughout Wales and across the border into the North West from our base in Chester and into the Midlands from Telford.

"I know that opening these new bases has been key in signing these new deals."

He added that the opening of the Telford depot in June was crucial in winning the Shire Services contract, which provides meals for about 100 schools in Shropshire alone.

The company's success is largely due to its commitment to reducing food miles, employing local people, and providing a flexible, efficient service.

Harlech’s managing director, David Cattrall, said: "We have actively gone about disrupting the way food service companies have traditionally operated.

"We have rejected the common practice of having inflated prices and increasing ‘negotiated’ prices without notice.

"Instead, we successfully launched our Trust Our Prices strategy last year with transparent and competitive pricing, backed up by excellent customer service.

"It means our customers can order up to 10pm for next day deliveries six days a week.

“The acquisition of Celtic Foodservices is another new and important milestone our drive to provide a first class service to new and existing customers in every single corner of Wales." 

The company was launched in 1972 by Shropshire couple Colin and Gill Foskett, who transformed a failing frozen food company into a thriving business.

Their three children, Jonathan, Andrew, and Laura, have taken over the reins and are part of the board, with the third generation of the family now involved in the firm.

For more on Harlech Foodservice, visit harlech.co.uk.