From acorns to oak trees: over 20 years of partnership with Higgidy
Long before Higgidy became a familiar sight in supermarket chillers across the UK, it was a young Sussex business with a great product, a strong vision and an order for 20,000 cartons. Alexir produced that very first order more than 20 years ago. Two decades later, we remain by their side, and now manufacture more than 10 million cartons for them a year.
Our collaboration with Higgidy is a journey that perfectly demonstrates what can happen when two ambitious businesses grow together.
Building something special from the beginning
When Higgidy launched, it entered a competitive market with a slightly different approach.
Its founders were focused on creating products that stood out from the crowd, focused on quality ingredients, and a strong rustic visual brand. From the beginning, packaging played an important role in helping communicate that quality.
One of the most recognisable features of the Higgidy range has always been its commitment to showcasing the product inside. While many pie brands conceal their products within fully enclosed packaging, Higgidy chose to make its food visible through windows that allow shoppers to see the quality for themselves.
That confidence in the product became a hallmark of the brand as it expanded from pies and quiches into sausage rolls, snack products and food-to-go formats.
As Higgidy grew, Alexir worked closely alongside the business, developing and producing the cartons that supported its expanding range.
Growing side-by-side
Over the past 20 years, Higgidy has evolved from a local start-up into one of the UK’s best-known premium chilled food brands. Along the way, the company has expanded its facilities, broadened its product portfolio and significantly increased its retail presence.
At the same time, Alexir has continued to invest in its own capabilities, facilities and people.
Neither company’s growth can be attributed solely to the other, but there is no question that the relationship has developed alongside both businesses.
As Higgidy’s requirements became larger and more sophisticated, Alexir grew with them. As Alexir expanded its capabilities, Higgidy benefited from a trusted packaging partner that already understood its products, its brand and its ambitions.
It’s the kind of long-term relationship that’s increasingly rare in modern manufacturing.
More than a supplier relationship
The strongest partnerships go beyond purchase orders and production schedules and throughout the relationship, Alexir has worked closely with Higgidy’s teams to share knowledge, provide guidance and support broader sustainability objectives.
Over the years, we’ve organised visits to our board mill partners, helping members of the Higgidy team gain first-hand insight into how cartonboard is produced, how forests are managed and how responsible sourcing works throughout the supply chain.
For a brand with strong sustainability ambitions, understanding the journey of packaging materials is just as important as understanding the ingredients that go into its products.
These experiences have helped strengthen the relationship between our teams while creating a shared understanding of the environmental considerations behind every pack.
But while any relationship has potential to thrive during the good times, the true measure of a relationship is how it performs when things become difficult.
Standing together through Covid, a devastating fire and supply chain nightmares
Over the years, Alexir and Higgidy have faced more than their fair share of challenges together.
Following the 2008 South American earthquake there was global disruption to cartonboard supply. Then again, in 2020, there was the unprecedented disruption caused by Covid-19 where there were widespread material shortages and allocation periods that affected manufacturers across the industry.
When packaging materials became increasingly difficult to secure, Alexir prioritised long-standing customers such as Higgidy to help maintain continuity of supply. While the entire industry experienced challenges, close collaboration between both businesses helped keep products moving.
Perhaps the greatest test came following the devastating fire that burned Alexir’s production facility to the ground in 2010. For many businesses, an event of that scale would have brought production to a complete standstill, perhaps even ending the business altogether.
But instead, Alexir formed agreements with manufacturing partners across the industry to ensure supply continued for Higgidy and our other clients until we were recovered 18 months later. Higgidy remained supplied and in stock throughout the recovery period.
The relationship endured.
Those moments of adversity often reveal the true strength of a partnership.
Our ongoing relationship
Today, Higgidy remains an important customer for Alexir, supported by a dedicated account management team and relationships that have been built over many years.
The business itself has evolved since its acquisition by Samworth Brothers, but the foundations of the relationship remain unchanged: trust, collaboration and a shared commitment to quality.
Looking back, we feel proud of what both businesses have achieved.
From a first carton order worth a few thousand pounds to a partnership producing more than 10 million cartons every year, it’s a story of sustained growth, mutual support and shared success. A genuine acorns-to-oaks journey.
