Farmhouse Biscuits in Nelson: from a farm kitchen to a four-generation family firm

Some of the best business stories begin with a setback. For the McIvor family, that setback was a hard Lancashire winter, and the business it gave rise to is still baking in Nelson more than six decades later.

Farmhouse Biscuits began in 1962 amid the snowy fields of Higher Oaklands Farm. The harsh winter had killed the family's poultry, and as a way to survive Dorothy McIvor made a few biscuits in the farmhouse kitchen to sell.

They were an immediate hit with shoppers, and out of that small beginning the business was born. Philip and Dorothy McIvor built on the early success, and trade press has since described the company's journey from a market stall to international success.

By 1973 the biscuits had become the family's main work. That year the business stopped farming altogether to devote itself to biscuit production.

More space was soon needed, and in 1978 the company moved to Nelson. It has stayed in the town ever since and now operates from a facility of around 200,000 square feet, making it a significant local employer. The company says it employs up to 300 people.

The McIvors' involvement has carried down the generations. Four generations of the family have been part of the business, and chief executive Gill McIvor is the second generation to run it commercially.

Philip McIvor, the company's founder and chairman, died in October 2021 at the age of 84. His legacy lives on in a firm that has kept its family character while growing far beyond the farmhouse kitchen where it started.

The business remains rooted in its community. Its refurbished premises in Nelson reopened to welcome customers back, a sign of continued investment in the town the company has called home since the late 1970s.

To find out more about the range and the family story, visit the Farmhouse Biscuits website, where the company shares its history from Higher Oaklands Farm to the present day.