Fowler Brothers

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Our father Richard, who was a master butcher, instigated the formation of Fowler Brothers in 1966. Initially the company consisted of three butchers’ shops, run by the three elder brothers, situated in East London, Wickford and Latchingdon, together with a small meat wholesale depot. In the early 1970s, we purchased the abattoir where we are currently situated, and gradually developed the business. Major milestones encountered since then have included gaining our EC licence, which consisted of a huge investment in the mid nineties amidst the BSE crisis followed by foot and mouth outbreaks. Both these events brought our business to a complete standstill however, the fact that we are still trading today is testament to the quality of the meat we supply.

Our business consists of the abattoir together with an on-site butcher’s shop and catering business, which is run by our eldest brother Kevin. Of the other three brothers, Kelvin runs the office and transport, Lodge handles day-to-day sales while Allman is in charge of livestock and day to day running of the business.

The meat business, on a small scale like ours, is a tough physical job. We load lorries from 5.30am carrying quarters of beef and pig carcasses on our shoulders, cutting meat to customers’ requirements, finally delivering them to high street butcher’s shops. There are not many of us left doing the job in carcase form but it’s the best way for quality meat. Whilst the lorries are out, the slaughtering process gets under way. We have a small team of skilled slaughtermen who have many years’ experience and take great pride in their work.

Being part of a small business can be very rewarding. We have a loyal and hard-working team, some of whom we have had the pleasure to work alongside most of our working lives. Apart from us, we have other family members who work for the company and some in reserve for exceptional circumstances!

Kevin, Kelvin, Lodge and Allman Fowler