The husband and wife team taking the world of luxury hampers by storm

A husband and wife team from a tiny hamlet have been taking the world of luxury hampers by storm with their local produce and hand-finished touches.

Based in Ludbrook, which sits between Ivybridge and Modbury, Ben and Holly Smallridge create luxury hampers, the perfect gift for friends, family, clients or employees.

“We are lucky to be surrounded by such great local producers”, Ben said, “the more we sell, the more they sell, and the more people are aware of their products, so it’s a win-win for everyone. We have found so many little companies we didn’t know about - did you know the World Marmalade Champion was in North Devon?”

Ben started his career as a butcher with Aune Valley Meats and then branched out on his own as Ludbrook Butchers.

He said: “We have always been passionate about great quality local food and over lockdown we decided to start curating the luxury food hampers and it has gone really well. We sold 282 last Christmas and it was chaos, there were boxes all over the kitchen, the kids were playing with the wood wool packaging, we weren’t getting to bed before 2am for about three weeks in the run up to Christmas Day but putting them all together was great.

“We love sourcing the best products and putting the hampers together for our customers.”

Ben and Holly started their search for the best of local produce by exploring the winners of the Great Taste Awards but always have their ears open for the next great thing from the South West.

“We just found an amazing peanut butter in Liskeard,” Ben explained excitedly, “and we found Flapjackery at the Yealmpton Show, they’re superb!”

As Coronavirus regulations lift, the couple are looking forward to visiting local markets and tasting all the samples and speaking to all the makers.

Ben said: “We love talking to all the local producers, they’re doing all the right things and they always put so much passion and energy into what they do.”

They have just received their alcohol license, so keep an eye out for hampers including Salcombe Gin and Sharpham Wines!

Ludbrook Foods has a great environmental pedigree too, all their packing material is eco-friendly and because they only source the products for their luxury hampers locally, they are helping to reduce the amount of food miles that are generated.

Ludbrook Foods’ hampers are generally themed, so you can choose a sweet one, or a savoury one, or a celebration one, Ben and Holly want to try and make sure there is something for everyone and something for every occasion.

“We have had such lovely messages from customers who just love the hampers”, Ben said, “We have had quite a few local businesses who have given hampers to their staff and customers and it’s great to see the local, hardworking people being rewarded during this tricky time for everyone.”

Ludbrook Foods is delivery only and you can find out more about them on their website or call 07791 156832.