Success story: Douglas Willis
Background
Based in Torfaen, Douglas Willis is a fresh meat wholesaler and catering butcher that delivers to homes and businesses throughout the UK. Founded in 1940, the family-owned company sells award-winning meat that’s sourced from Welsh and UK suppliers.
ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre has supported Douglas Willis for many years, having previously helped them to achieve SALSA certification and to subsequently progress to BRCGS Start in 2019, when they became the first site in the world to be certificated.
Douglas Willis reached out to ZERO2FIVE when they were looking for support with BRCGS Start recertification, traceability and hygienic design.
BRCGS Start support
ZERO2FIVE carried out internal audits of Douglas Willis’s food safety management systems against the requirements of the BRCGS Start standard. This allowed ZERO2FIVE to identify any processes and paperwork that needed further refinement to meet the standard’s requirements.
As a result, ZERO2FIVE delivered a programme of mentoring to Douglas Wills’ technical manager on topics including specifications, HACCP, incident management, and labelling. A newcomer to the food and drink manufacturing industry prior to working at Douglas Willis, ZERO2FIVE’s mentoring has been vital in upskilling the technical manager.
Douglas Willis successfully passed their most recent BRCGS audit in March 2025. ZERO2FIVE plans to support the company with further BRCGS Start internal audits and will deliver targeted mentoring to support with the continuous improvement of their food safety and quality management systems.
Traceability support
ZERO2FIVE conducted a diagnostic review of Douglas Willis’s traceability systems as the company wished to challenge and strengthen their procedures and working practices in this area.
As a result, recommendations were made regarding training and in the future ZERO2FIVE plan to deliver an onsite traceability workshop to Douglas Willis’s production team. Furthermore, the company is currently upgrading their computerised traceability systems to accommodate products made with multiple components like burgers and sausages.
The improvements to Douglas Willis’s traceability systems have supported the company to pass their most recent PGI Welsh Beef and Lamb certification audit, a key part of which is tracing the provenance of meat along the entire supply chain. These improvements will also support Douglas Willis with maintaining their Red Tractor and BRCGS Start certification
Hygienic design support
Douglas Willis reached out to ZERO2FIVE when they were looking for support with factory hygienic design as it is a key consideration in good hygiene practices, their Food Standards Agency approval and BRCGS Start audits.
ZERO2FIVE carried out a diagnostic review of the company’s factory design against EHEDG guidelines to compare it with best practice and to scope any intervention work that may be required. In addition, ZERO2FIVE delivered mentoring on hygienic factory design best practice with topics covered including production process flows and risk assessments.
As a result of the support, ZERO2FIVE made recommendations which the company are now implementing. This includes installing a dry-ageing room, which will support with maintaining product safety as well as improving product quality and process efficiency.
Douglas Willis were successfully approved in their most recent Food Standards Agency cutting plant audit and as a result will maintain their 12-month audit cycle.
Benefits of the support
As a result of the support from ZERO2FIVE, Douglas Willis has been able to safeguard 38 jobs within the company.
Sean Willis, Managing Director, Douglas Willis Ltd: “ZERO2FIVE has been constantly at our side for over 15 years providing support, knowledge transfer and direction to our food business. Due to their help, we have been able to attain and maintain our certifications for BRCGS Start, PGI Welsh Beef & Lamb, and Red Tractor Assurance. This has enabled us to maintain our business share in an extremely demanding food sector.”
Get in touch with us
If you’d like to find out more about how we can help your business or have any questions about the support we can offer, then please get in touch.
