Delightful Food Group

Co-Founder & CEO

March Foods Ltd

IBC Simply

Director

General Manager

Head of Marketing and Communications

Barney & Ben (Dinoshakes)

Managing Director

The Kent Theatre Company

Owner

🌟 I’m Ricky, the proud Co-Founder and CEO of the Delightful Food Group, founded in December 2023 as part of a strategic growth initiative.

🚀 Delightful Food Group is at the forefront of the food and drinks industry, bringing together the strengths of two well-established businesses. Our journey includes a pivotal strategic move, with IBC Simply, a renowned player in shaking up the beverage landscape for over 25 years, acquiring March Foods.

☕ IBC Simply (Italian Beverage Company) are manufacturers and suppliers of food and beverage products all around the world. Our range of Simply products are renowned for their quality and taste.

🌐 March Foods stands out as one of the UK’s leading co-packing and co-manufacturing entities, specializing in working with esteemed household names. They uniquely offer co-packing and co-manufacturing services anonymously, providing bespoke tailored bays to meet client's specific requirements.

💡 The synergy between IBC Simply and March Foods has been a driving force in our success, propelling both businesses to new heights. At Delightful Food Group, we pride ourselves on providing end-to-end expertise in innovation, product development, production, and packing.

🤝 Our dedicated teams are here to collaborate with you, leveraging insights and knowledge to bring your products to market successfully. Whether it's identifying the latest trends, presenting innovative ideas, or meticulously co-manufacturing and co-packing your products to exact specifications, we are committed to your success.

Ricky Flax

On Monday, I won Scale-Up Entrepreneur of the Year at the The Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards, which still feels a little bit surreal.

I’ve never chased awards, and to be honest, it’s not something I ever really expected. But looking back at what we’ve built this year as a group… it truly has been unbelievable.

When I walked into the IBC Simply office 13 years ago, I had zero intention of staying in the industry long-term. I came in to help out for a bit, and somehow that turned into scaling IBC, building the Delightful Food Group, and growing alongside March Foods Ltd

It’s been messy at times and definitely not a straight line, but we’ve learnt an insane amount along the way, and I’ve loved every second of it.

None of it (genuinely none of it) would have been possible without the people inside this group who show up every day, take ownership, and care about what we’re building, along with the people around me in my life who support me through thick and thin.

I can’t thank you all enough. There are far too many of you to tag, but you know exactly who you are. We wouldn’t be anywhere near this point without you.

And thank you as well to Frankie James for an amazing evening and all the work that goes into bringing the awards to life.

Big end to the year ahead for us at Delightful Food Group, and I’m excited to see where this momentum takes us next!

CEO of Delightful Food Group, IBC Simply & March Foods | Creating, Manufacturing, and Supplying “Best in Class” products to the Food and Drink Industry

South Eastern Regional College

Parttime Lecturer

Johnsons Coffee 

Brand Development and Key Accounts manager at Johnsons Coffee

Brand Development Manager

JOHNSON BROTHERS (BELFAST) LIMITED

Account Manager and Barista Training Officer

Johnsons Coffee Belfast (Ltd)

Barista Training Officer

Costa Coffee

Manager

Brand development manager for Johnsons Coffee. Experienced Barista trainer with a demonstrated history of working in the hospitality industry. Skilled in Catering, Food & Beverage, Internal Audit, Sales, and Retail. 
I carry out daily training training in various top hotels and cafes in Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and across the UK.
I provide various levels of training to cater for a large range of skill levels, from the basics, to detailed, guided learning hours through City and Guilds courses. 
I also provide retail consultation on business set-up to support on opening. Advising on site plans and effective customer journey, along with staff deployment for the best service possible at customer level. 
I currently work with multiple clients and brands across the country on promotional material and effective Point of Sale. On the branding side of things I personally carry out, seasonal marketing, photography, artwork and printing.
Coffee checks and auditing are also something I have developed from scratch with a view to improve the coffee industry. 
Bringing together my knowledge and experience in the industry, I have found that the development of my coffee audit and mentoring programme,  is having a positive effect not just in sales but customer service on all sites currently availing of the programme. 
I have developed a premium retail coffee brand which is currently on sale across Northern Ireland. Copper Drum Coffee. This brand is currently seeing success in being a locally roasted, single origin coffee product. Pitched as a premium coffee, it is roasted in small batches , hand packed and limited edition.

Tim Smith

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