Member Event with Simon Herring, Pipers Crisps

A farmer’s son and self-confessed ‘difficult’ teenager, Simon Herring began to find his feet at Oxford Polytechnic where an HND in Business was enough to land him a job with Cargill, the food, agricultural, financial and industrial products giant.

Working as a trader on the ‘Futures’ floor, Simon moved into the coffee industry, via freight and cocoa, but after six years realised corporate life wasn’t for him.

A chance conversation with his now business partner set the wheels in motion for the first of many business ventures. In 1992, Simon left the daily grind to begin building Lincoln & York, now the second largest private label coffee roaster in the UK.

The Pipers story began in 2004 when Simon joined forces with farmers Alex Albone and James Sweeting in a quest to produce great tasting, quality crisps using local potatoes.

Pipers has grown to become a significant business. Based in rural Lincolnshire, it employs over 90 local people, sells to 32 countries worldwide and has been named both in the Grocer’s 2017 Fastest 50 list, as well as being identified by the London Stock Exchange as one of ‘1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain’.

EXPLORE the challenges of a rural business trading globally.

LEARN how Simon has turned potatoes into profit in a crowded marketplace.