Today we caught up with co-founders of Ambry, Sanda, Farhad and Elliot, to find out more about the company behind the incredible Ambry Turkey Bacon that was awarded three accolades in the 2023 Quality Food Awards:

• Gold
• Small Producer of the Year
• Product of the Year

View our full list of 2023 winners here.

Can you tell us about the founding story of Ambry and how it all began?

Ambry started with the idea for our first product, our already award-winning Ambry Turkey Bacon. It all grew out of a longing for a Turkey Bacon with a taste that we couldn’t find the UK. For decades, we had been enjoying turkey bacon on holidays in the US but felt the current options in the UK paled — quite literally — in comparison. Then, during lock down when we were unable to travel, that craving for Turkey Bacon wouldn’t go away and we knew that we could not be the only ones with this longing.

An “ambry” refers to a pantry, cupboard, bookshelf, or library — it is a place where one keeps precious, meaningful things. It felt like the perfect description of somewhere to keep our now award-winning Turkey Bacon.

What motivated you to create your award-winning Turkey Bacon?

It really began as a lockdown challenge. Like most of Britain we were eating and cooking at home a lot and found ourselves dreaming of turkey bacon! We longed for a good lean tasty protein to enhance our increasingly elaborate breakfasts and lunches. Our newfound passion for baking the perfect sourdough had evolved into multiple variations of avocado toasts, grilled cheese, waffles, or pancakes made with sourdough starter—but something was missing. We kept returning to the deliciously moreish Turkey bacon we had loved when we were living in New York decades earlier, and which we enjoyed with reckless abandon on every visit to America.

With the time and energy to experiment, we set out to see if it was possible to create a delicious bacon made from turkey which rivalled the best pork bacon here in the UK, and even bettered the best turkey bacon in America. Convinced we could do better, we set out to create a free-range bacon, that just happens to be made from British turkey, and is a lean, healthy, delicious alternative to pork bacon in your fry-ups, baps, BLTs and avocado toasts - deliciously indulgent and uncompromising on quality and taste.

How does Ambry differentiate itself from other small producers in the food industry?

We are motivated by our passion for craft and our love of creating great tasting good food. Our mantra is to keep things simple and let the product speak for itself.

The smell from cooking and then the first bite of our bacon is a “wow” moment for most people who try it. It’s a delightful surprise — a smoky hit, a hint of sweet muscovado, perfectly crispy.

One of the judges even declared, “It’s a game-changer!” - not just for pork free bacon alternatives but for Bacon itself!

What challenges did you face in developing your product, and how did you overcome them?

We wanted to create an authentic artisanal product made with high quality, ethically sourced ingredients. As far as we are aware this has not been attempted before in the UK, so we had to figure out how to do this for ourselves!

A lot of time was spent in our test kitchen to get it just right, with a lot of trial and error along the way.

We also launched in the middle of the 2022 avian flu crisis, which made sourcing meat quite a challenge.

Could you walk us through the process of creating your Turkey Bacon, from conception to production?

It started as a backyard lockdown project, smoking test batches outside in the snow over the winter of 2020/21. With help from technical consultants and our friends at the Broadland Food Innovation Centre, we setup our production centre on a Norfolk turkey farm and were ready to launch in late 2022.

How does winning Gold and Product of the Year at the UK Quality Food and Drink Awards impact your business?

Like our Turkey bacon experience it was a "wow" moment for us to achieve such success in our first year. It gives us a huge amount of pride and the motivation to keep striving for better. We love our turkey bacon, but it is always great to hear that others do too - especially experts within the industry.

That said, we are not rushing to over commercialise. For now, what’s important to our values as a brand is to stay authentic to our founding values and to focus on producing a small batch artisanal product with care, rather than mass produce it without.

Enter the 2024 awards here.

What sets your Turkey Bacon apart from traditional bacon alternatives?

The awards speak for themselves. It’s a thrill to see our turkey bacon competing against and winning over premium bacon brands.

We’ve sampled it extensively with customers who tell us that the whole experience is a "wow" for them - how it looks, cooks, smells and tastes — sets our turkey bacon apart.

Our bacon has a short ingredients list, containing seasonings and preservatives commonly found in high quality pork bacon. This is quite different to other bacon alternatives, which tend to be ultra-processed with a long and confusing list of ingredients. This less is more approach is why we believe it tastes so good.

How does Ambry ensure the quality and consistency of its products?

We have worked hard to achieve SALSA accreditation, which requires every step of the sourcing and production process to be carefully considered, documented, and regularly reviewed. Plus, as a family-owned business who started this to deliver better, we refuse to compromise on quality.

What inspired you to participate in the awards, and what benefits have you gained from the experience?

Our Food Safety consultant spoke highly of the awards - calling them “the ones that the big retailers really care about”. Since winners were announced we have noticed an increase in sales, especially since we added awards stickers to our packaging.

What advice would you give to other small producers looking to enter the UK Quality Food and Drink Awards?

We are so glad that we entered - it gave our confidence and profile a huge boost. Even if you don’t win an award, you will receive honest and valuable feedback that will help to improve your product.

How does winning Small Producer of the Year affect Ambry’s future plans and strategies?

It’s a big motivator to keep growing whilst maintaining our high standards.

Can you share any insights into consumer trends that influenced the development of your Turkey Bacon?

It was clear from the rise in plant-based bacons that there was a demand from consumers for an alternative to pork, and we felt that there was a clear gap in the market for a premium priced, delicious, and high-quality turkey bacon.

With a growing consumer focus on healthier eating and demand for carefully sourced, quality ingredients we felt we were well placed to give it a go.

What role does sustainability play in Ambry’s operations and product development?

It’s very important to us - we source meat from East Anglian farms, including the one we are based on. Our card-based packaging has been carefully designed to contain reduced plastic in comparison with conventional bacon packaging. It has been carefully designed to make it easy for the consumer to recycle the card as well.

How does Ambry maintain a balance between innovation and tradition in its product range?

Innovation was necessary in development of our product as there is nothing similar on the market. However, artisanal production methods - including smoking over real beechwood chips and avoiding the use of phosphates - result in a product much more like traditional bacon.

What impact do you hope to make on the food industry with your award-winning products?

We hope to show that a small startup brand with good intentions can succeed in today’s challenging market.

What advice would you offer to aspiring food entrepreneurs who are just starting their journey?

Get advice when you need it and don’t rush into anything. And believe in yourself and trust your instinct.

How do you envision the future of Ambry and its product offerings? Could you share any upcoming projects or new product developments that Ambry has in the pipeline?

The concept of the Ambry — a pantry or cupboard where one keeps precious or meaningful objects — will inspire all our products. We are committed to craftsmanship, quality ingredients and to taste. We currently are trialing a turkey pancetta which one could add to a carbonara or a salad. We are excited about what else we can create to add to our Ambry!

What does winning multiple awards mean for the Ambry team and its morale?

To be honest, we never imagined winning multiple awards within a few months of our launch — it’s certainly given us a tremendous boost to our morale!

Where can people purchase your product?

Our list of London retailers seems to be growing by the week, including:

• Panzers Deli: https://panzers.co.uk/product/ambry-free-range-turkey-bacon/ 
• Lidgates Butchers: https://lidgates.com/products/ambry-free-range-turkey-bacon-150g 
• Provenance Village Butcher: https://provenancebutcher.com/products/free-range-turkey-bacon?_pos=1&_sid=ce68949c4&_ss=r 
• Notting Hill Fish & Meat Shop
• Supermarket of Dreams
• Hampstead Butcher & Providore
• Pomona Foods: https://www.pomonafoods.co.uk/products/ambry-free-range-turkey-bacon-150g?_pos=1&_psq=+ambry&_ss=e&_v=1.0 
• All Greens

- amongst others. We are also available online at Todelli: https://todelli.com/producer/ambry  and we supply to independent East Anglian retailers.

Recently, Ambry Turkey Bacon has been featured on the weekend brunch menu at The Good Plot in Notting Hill. Other restaurants are interested in putting Ambry Turkey Bacon on the menu, but we want to ensure every partnership stays true to our Ambry ambition and values. Watch this space.

Lastly, what message would you like to convey to other small producers considering entering the UK Quality Food and Drink Awards this year?

Go for it!!

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The entry cost for qualifying Small Producers* this year is just £79 per product. Small Producers' products are judged in categories alongside other products but products are not judged against one another. Our panel judges products against our stringent 10 step judging criteria within their own right. This means that some categories may see multiple accoldades awarded, and others may not see any at all.

Take a look at our judging criteria here.

All Small Producer entries also have the opportunity to win our Small Producer award - which Ambry won in 2023. 

Browse our vast range of categories here. Entries are open until Friday 14 June 2024.

*to qualify as a Small Producer, you must have annual sales of under £2million and fewer than 10 staff. Your product(s) must be available for consumers to purchase, either online or instore this year.