Higgidy Supplier Story: Packington Free Range

Using well-sourced ingredients is a must at Higgidy, especially when it comes to creating our meat pies. Using free range where possible and ensuring that all livestock is outdoor bread and free to roam.

For 6 years we’ve been working with Packington Free Range, who have excelled in ethical and sustainable farming since 1930. Their passion for provenance and sustainability have helped them to create an environmentally friendly and welfare-orientated farm, where they home a flock of free range chickens.

Family History

Run by two brothers, Robert and Alec Mercer, Packington farm has been handed down by their father, grandfather and great grandfather – farming pigs, cockerels, chickens and turkeys. Offering all of their animals a safe and healthy environment to roam freely.
Their goal is to leave their children a legacy for years to come. They’ve been farming for 80 years already, working continuously to implement their core values into all that they do.

Free to Roam

We use Packington Free Range’s chicken in the likes of our Chicken & Ham Hock Pie. When looking for a chicken supplier many years ago, our Procurement Manager, Odair, was impressed by their ethos of ensuring that their chicken tastes like it used to – full of flavour. He was also impressed by how well all chickens are treated at Packington Free Range, feeling assured that these feathered creatures are nurtured and cared for.

Robert and Alec have rigorous animal welfare policies in place to ensure that their chickens are looked after throughout their whole life. Offering a great amount of attention at every stage of development.

All chickens at Packington Free Range are kept warm in sheds using heat lamps as young babies. These are turned down gradually as they grow, getting them used to the British weather. Once they are three weeks old, they are then allowed outside into lush, green pastures, roaming as freely as they wish. Across the farm, there are various perches, houses and spaces for the chickens to roam and feed. Then each evening, they are brought inside for their own safety against predators such as foxes. This level of care has won Packington Free Range numerous awards and their chickens have been recognised as the ‘happiest in Britain’ by The Hairy Bikers (who wouldn’t be the happiest if the Hairy Bikers were in town?!). We are proud to work with them as a supplier, knowing that their chickens are given the best life possible and are treated with respect and care.

High Quality Pies

We believe that the high-quality chicken from Packington Free Range adds extra depth to our Chicken & Ham Hock Pies giving us succulent, generous chunks of chicken that comes from a trusted and well-respected supplier. This, combined with our outdoor bred, tender ham hock, creamy Crème Fraiche sauce and golden all butter shortcrust pastry makes for the perfect, heart-warming supper.

Our Technical and Procurement teams put a lot of work into ensuring that we work with as many sustainable suppliers as possible. Before embarking on our relationship with Packington Free Range, we were pleased to learn that their farming methods are sustainable, tying in with our mission to leave the world a little better than we found it.

Sustainability is at the forefront of everything they do, and they incorporate this in a variety of ways – from using solar panels to protecting hedgerows to help wildlife to flourish. In our opinion, knowing that our ingredients come from suppliers who care about the planet make our recipes taste even better.

We look forward to continuing to work alongside Packington Free Range for many years to come. If you’d like to find out more about their work, do pop over to their website.