Stockley's Interview with Andy Valentine

“At Stockley’s, we believe in maintaining time-honoured handcrafted methods and offering sweets and treats that come with the reassurance and authenticity that 100 years of sweet-making bring.”

Established in 1918, Stockley’s confectionery was born from the humble dream of Malcom Stockley, who upon his return to Lancashire from the first world war, wished to forge his own path as a toffee producer.

Ever since, Stockley’s have been making the finest traditional British confectionary. From its creation, the business developed at pace over the following years as word continued to spread about the quality of Stockley’s sweets. By the 1930’s, the business had reached the USA, exhibiting at the World Trade Fair in San Francisco in 1939.

In recent years, the business has been producing primarily for the B2B customers or private labels. Marketing director, Andy Valentine joined in June of 2023. “I was really keen to develop a new range of Stockley’s branded products that would resonate with confectionary aficionados.” He explains. “At a time when homegrown artisanal/specialist skills and values are appreciated more than ever, it felt like a good time to tell the Stockley’s story and to ‘stop hiding our light under a bushel.’”

“At Stockley’s, we believe in maintaining time-honoured handcrafted methods and offering sweets and treats that come with the reassurance and authenticity that 100 years of sweet-making bring.”

“As well as the traditional sweet shop classics, such as Cola Cubes, Pear Drops and Sherbet lemons, we are able to innovate flavours, shapes and centres to offer a modern twist on? treasured classics” Andy describes. “One of our newest recipes is a Berries & Cream, which has a delicious raspberry and cream flavoured exterior (made with fresh cream and natural flavours) and a really zingy, chewy berry flavoured centre.” He says.

“The base recipe starts in a traditional kettle with the ‘boiling,’ and the magic happens when it is poured onto the cold slab to begin the process of adding colours and flavours before the sheet starts to cool.” Explains Andy.

“We know that Malcom Stockley began as a toffee producer, but from there the range inevitably developed and attracted image from 1925 at Bolton Market, which references ‘Stockley’s Famous Pineapple Rock,’ which at the time was probably quite an exotic treat in those post-war years.”

“Excuse the pun, but lately I really am a sucker for our chewy Cola Cubes! These days at Stockley’s, I really am the proverbial ‘kid in the sweet shop’ and there are so many classics that remind me of childhood and getting a quarter of sweets in a paper bag…Probably showing my age there!” Andy laughs.?

One of the newest additions to the Stockley’s range is the Sugar Free collection. “The Free From market generally has grown rapidly over the last decade and I was keen to offer sugar-free versions of six of our most popular traditional sweets.” Describes Andy. “I wanted to present them in an ‘unapologetic’ way as a distinct lifestyle choice, which is somewhat removed from the ‘clinical’ style offered by many others.” ?

“Post pandemic, there has been a surge in appreciation of both healthier living, thinking and small everyday affordable treats in our increasingly hectic and expensive lives.” Andy observes. “It’s really a question of choice. For some, a reduced sugar lifestyle is a necessity, whilst for others it is simply a matter of preference. At Stockley’s we’ve always been very conscious that sweets appreciation come in many guises.”

Andy goes on to say that “For any business, it is important to be seen as aware of ever-changing trends. The reaction to the sugar free range has far exceeded our initial ambitions, with our latest range extension and positioning unlocking doors that were previously closed, which is of course fantastic!”

“We have a wonderful range of capabilities in terms of both recipes and pack formats and such an incredible heritage of producing handcrafted British confectionary.” Says Andy. “As a business we are now in a very exciting position to have conversations with retailers/operators across all channels with tailored propositions, that are built on authenticity and quality, a stance we believe to be extremely compelling.”

Stockley’s have begun their digital journey through social media. “It’s fair to say we are still in our early days on this journey.” Notes Andy. “We are using LinkedIn to help build our profile with potential B2B customers and have established a presence on Instagram and Facebook, to start telling the Stockley’s story and to build brand awareness.” He explains.

“The key focus over the last 12 months has been putting the building blocks in place with new ranges and formats, ensuring that the next 12 months will be really exciting as we ‘pop our heads above the parapet!’”

Striving to honor tradition, as well as the environment, Stockley’s look to keep their supply chains as short as possible, building long-term relationships with UK suppliers. “From a packaging perspective, we are aiming to use recyclable options whenever possible and are introducing a new ranger of treat cartons that are FSC-sourced, recyclable and World Land Trust accredited carbon-neutral cartons.”

Thinking back on some of the toughest challenges Stockley’s have faced on their journey so far, Andy recalls coping with the increased demand, and ensuring the business has the capacity to handle long-term growth. “The associated recruitment and training is critical and something that takes time to get right.” He Says.

“With the challenges during COVID and subsequently with commodity prices being wildly unpredictable, there always something to tackle. That said, we feel that we are in a really good place to push on as a business!”

This unbreakable determination to forge ahead against various challenges and setbacks is fuelled by Andy’s love of helping brands to fulfil their potential. “It is such a privilege to be able to help advance Stockley’s story by taking quality sweet appreciation to a wider audience.” He explains.

“With a 100 year history, it would be hard to pick a key turning point for Stockley’s, but we are really excited about what the future holds for us, and ?to continue honoring our incredible heritage.” Says Andy, excited as ever to watch the story of Stockley’s unfold even more. “After all, there is undoubtedly nothing more exciting than creating a vison and then making it a reality.”

For aspiring entrepreneurs and business, Andy believes the key is to “Find something that you are really passionate about. Do your ‘due diligence’ to make sure there is a compelling point-of-difference that you can bring to potential customers, and then be prepared to work your socks off to make it a reality. ‘Bouncebackability’ will be essential!” He says.

Looking ahead to the future and considering? what kind of change he would like to see and influence within the industry, Andy wishes to build long-term relationships with customers and suppliers. “It may seem a bit idealistic, but my hope is to to build sustainable propositions for consumers that offer consistently great quality value for money and are sustainably packaged.”

Andy goes on to say that he is not a big fan of the constant product cost engineering and ‘shrinkflation.’ “Having a more consistent approach to our national recycling infrastructure would also be a big step forward!”

“We are not looking for world domination,” Andy says, “but we do believe that there is a significant opportunity for us to bring our handcrafted British confectionary to a much wider audience.”

With a rich and storied history of 100 years behind them, Stockley’s hope to honor the legacy of Malcom Stockley and the business he established. Today, the passion to create traditional confectionary lies at the heart of the company, as they strive to share that piece of history and nostalgia with ever more people.

Stockley’s charming collection of traditional confectionery can be found on their website here.

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