THE Princess Royal visited multi-award-winning free-range egg producer, St. Ewe Free Range Eggs, to open a new grading and packing centre.

The purpose-built Packing Centre has allowed the company to expand its processing facilities and upgrade its production infrastructure, as well as providing significant future growth potential. 

Bex Tonks, CEO of St Ewe Free Range Eggs said: "We are honoured to have had HRH The Princess Royal officially open our Packing Centre, and hope that it will demonstrate how our British family business supports other family farms around the UK. If it wasn’t for their dedication to farming and the hard work of our whole team, St. Ewe Free Range Eggs wouldn’t be where they are today. 

"British farmers play such an important role in nurturing the nation's food system, as well as delivering a wide range of environmental and rural community benefits which span well beyond the farm gates. Supporting British has never been so important, and we feel incredibly proud to be part of this magnificent industry. 

"I speak on behalf of the whole St. Ewe family when I say that it marked a huge moment for us, as we reflect, with huge pride, on our combined achievements over the past 41 years."

Thanks to the support of DEFRA grant funding, the purpose-built packing centre spans 50,000 sq. ft, and along with specialist machinery, has enabled the business to continue to thrive and step change its growth from 1m eggs per week to 2-3m eggs per week at present; with far more scope for exciting future development.

With the processing capacity of the business having increased more than five-fold, this in turn has generated more employment opportunities within the local community. 

The Tonks Family diversified into poultry in 1982 and founded St Ewe Free Range Eggs in 2007 when they began packing their own free-range eggs for the supermarkets under their own brand. 

As they have grown and required an increase in flock numbers, they have made sure that they remain true to their family values. St. Ewe only works with family farms around the UK that share in their values, pledging a commitment to hen welfare and nutrition; the bedrock of St. Ewe’s success, and their main differentiator in the market. 

HRH The Princess Royal was invited to unveil a plaque to commemorate the opening of the new grading and packing centre and was presented with a Cornish hamper by the seven-year-old daughter of CEO, Lucia Tonks.