Exton’s started life in 2000 when Liz made the bold decision to purchase a small cheese delivery round in Stockport
Over the following years Liz gained loyalty from her customers by supplying a quality product and fantastic service. Values which are still at the heart of the business today.
In 2002 Liz’s sister Rachael came to help out and build Sales. The sisters worked brilliantly together.
A strong work ethic, being kind and supporting each other allowed the girls to build a caring and loyal team, enabling the company to grow from strength to strength.
To add to the family the girls were later joined by their father Jim and husbands Steven and Kev, who now hold vital roles within the company.
Twenty years on and two factories later, the company is now regarded as a leading supplier of sliced and grated cheese to retail and foodservice sectors with a dedicated team of 150 employees and a fabulous reputation to match.
This is our family
It is with true family values that we support and nurture our team. We expect our people to look out for each other, with kindness and respect.
We do not underestimate the responsibility we have to the safety and wellbeing of our team and are committed to ensuring a safe place to work. It is our priority that you return home, safe and sound, to your loved ones, at the end of each day.
Our ambition to keep getting better, means that year after year, we strengthen our teams, investing in training, equipment and new technologies, giving our people the resources they need to be the best they can be.
It is our goal that every member of our work family is valued, respected, and supported.
Customers at the heart
From day one, customer service has been at the heart of our business and the foundation for our success today. This mentality has helped us to build an excellent reputation, ensuring, long lasting and trusted relationships. Never taking our success for granted, we place the upmost importance of providing consistently, high quality products from a friendly and helpful team.
Pride in everything we do
We take pride in our work and create an environment where our people feel motivated to achieve outstanding results. Our consistently high standards enable us to maintain unannounced BRC accreditation year after year.
We are proud to be making a difference, working with schools in the local community and supporting charities close to our hearts. We understand our impact on the environment, and the importance of looking to work in a more sustainable way, actively taking steps to reduce our Carbon Footprint and use recyclable materials.
Our journey so far…
2000
Pastures new
Liz saw an advert for a cheese delivery round in the local newspaper supplying local shops and cafes. With family support and bucket loads of belief she took the plunge and was soon the proud owner of a small cheese grating business in Stockport. Shortly after, Liz started to supply sandwich fillings to widen her product offering and customer base. These were tough years and a lot of hard work, Liz was lucky to have her Father James and Husband Steven always there to help and support in those difficult early days.
Staff
2
Turnover
£200,000
2002
Sisters are slicing it for themselves
Rachael finished university and went to help Liz for a few weeks; she never left. This year, we took an exciting step into slicing, investing in a hand-operated slicer to provide portion-controlled sliced cheddar for sandwich manufacturers.
Staff
12
Turnover
£750,000
2004
Small investment. Big deal.
In 2004, Liz invested in a small slicing machine and secured a contract to supply one of the UK’s largest sandwich manufacturers. She and Rachael took a leap of faith, relocating to a larger site in Trafford Park. Over the years, the business grew through expansion, reinvestment, and a diversified customer base, including foodservice and wholesalers.
Staff
30
Turnover
£2m
2013
Moooving on up
In 2013, sales grew through continued investment in equipment and recruitment. During this time, we also moved to a larger 20,000 sq. ft site in Wythenshawe to support our expanding operations, which continues to be our home today. As we grew, we remained committed to supporting our local community, ensuring that we give back and contribute to the areas that have helped us along the way.
Staff
30
Turnover
£16m
2018
Great investment
Our company achieved significant growth, doubling the size of our site to an impressive 40,000 sq. ft. We also invested in a new grating line to expand into the European and retail markets. To further enhance our capabilities, we made a £1.5 million investment in a state-of-the-art slicing line. Additionally, we transitioned to unannounced BRC audits and were proud to be awarded an AA rating. These milestones marked an exciting chapter in our journey!
Staff
90
Turnover
£47m
2022
Bouncing back
In 2022, we got back on our feet after the challenges of COVID and Brexit, focusing on building our teams, growth and becoming super efficient. This year saw the business grow by 40% and subsequently recognised as one of the 100 fastest growing businesses in the UK. As the business grew so did our responsibilities and the need to push forward with the launch of recyclable retail packaging and significant progress on Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions reduction initiatives.
Staff
143
Turnover
£65m
TODAY
Celebrating 25 Years of excellence and expansion
2025 will be a very exciting year for the Extons team as we celebrate our 25th anniversary! We continue to grow while keeping our customers at the heart of what we do. Key developments include a £4.5 million investment in a secondary grating line to boost production capacity, the expansion of our office space to support our growing team, and a reconfiguration of our facilities to improve operational efficiency and support future growth.
Staff
180
Turnover
£100m
200020022004201320182022TODAY
180
Workforce
54,000
Square ft
£100m
Turnover
450tn
Cheese produced every week
Meet Liz & Rachael
Managing Director
Liz Parkinson
On finishing school, I couldn’t bear the thought of being stuck in a classroom for another 3 years, so I subsequently dropped out of six form. After a few years of working in bars and not taking life too seriously I realised I wanted to follow in my parent’s footsteps and run my own business. After seeing an advert for a small cheese delivery round in the local newspaper I thought why not, people will always eat cheese… and so here we are.
I get involved in all aspects of the business, but most of all, I love developing new business relationships, pushing the business forward and constantly looking at how we can improve. And the best part ?.. I get to work with my favourite people every day.
Favourite song: Roberta Flack – Back together again. Favourite place: Our mums villa in Spain; it’s my happy place.
Director
Rachael Edwards
After four years of having a little too much fun at Uni I got a call from Liz to ask if I could help out and sell cheese for a few weeks. Turns out I had a knack for sales and loved working with my sister. We are such a good team and in the words of Hotel California, once i was in I never left!
I mainly look after the customer and commercial side, my main passion being people and continually ensuring Extons is a great place to work.
Favourite song: Purple Rain – Prince Favourite place: At home with the family drinking wine and eating cheese!
100%
of our customers would recommend us as a supplier
98%
rated our customer service team as excellent or good
98%
of deliveries received on time & in full
96%
would rate our products excellent or great
“The Exton’s team supply great quality cheese. They’re are easy to work with and always efficient with deliveries. Keep up the good work!”
Chris Dennis, purchasing director at Castell Howell
Join the family
We’re a caring, passionate and inclusive company where people can thrive, progress and connect with others.
We put our people first, ensuring we continue to build on our culture of honesty, supporting each other and doing what’s right.
Whatever role in the company, all our people share a passion, dedication and enthusiasm for what we do.
Managing Director
Director