The man who gave the world strawberry flavoured clotted cream is to step down as boss of Devon dairy business Langage Farm after 21 years to take the helm at a start-up charcuterie company.
Paul Winterton started as a production manager at , and has been managing director for more than nine years.
He will leave the business at the end of August 2021 to become chief executive of new business Rare & Pasture, an organic farm and meat production company, also near Plymouth.
During Mr Winterton’s tenure Langage Farm grew to become one of the best known, and indeed loved, dairy brands in the Ƶ. Constantly innovating new products, the company extended its factory at Smitherleigh, on the outskirts of Plymouth, in 2020.
It also grew its workforce as products such as its high-end yogurts were a hit for Aldi, and Marks and Spencer was bowled over by its flavoured thick cream, including the popular strawberry variety.
Which prompted Mr Winterton to say: “At least I created strawberry clotted cream which was a Ƶ first, not a bad legacy.”
He said the decision to leave Langage Farm after so long was a difficult one, but he leaves the business in good hands and couldn’t resist the challenge at Rare & Pasture, which had headhunted him.
“Langage Farm is still strong, and I will make sure everything is ship-shape here before I move on. I had no intention of leaving the business,” he added. “But these things present themselves and it was an opportunity to progress my career. I’m grateful for the past 21 years, but this is a new opportunity, new horizons.”
Mr Winterton said Langage Farm will continue to prosper under new MD Ben Harvey, and said: “I’m sure it will continue to go from strength to strength. We took the business to a different level, with the supermarkets and even to Australia and Japan.
“And it was all down to the people at Langage Farm. Not just the managerial team, but the people who come in at 5am and do their jobs well. A business is only as good as the people it employs.”
Mr Winteron said he is looking forward to starting at Rare & Pasture, based at Ugborough, near Ivybridge, which is an ambitious enterprise.
“We are hoping to create jobs and grow the business,” he said.
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Andrew Owens, chairman of Rare & Pasture, said: “Since setting up Rare & Pasture last year, we’ve developed a range of unique, awarding-winning products using meat from our farm near Ivybridge.
“We’ve also been building a fantastic new production facility on the farm that will allow us to expand our production.
“So we’re now appointing a proven leader to bring these things together and drive the business forward. Paul brings decades of experience and a track record leading a fast-growing and innovative business.”
Langage Farm has remained a working farmstead for more than 900 years, in the rolling Devonshire countryside.
In 1980 the Harvey family started to produce their world-famous clotted cream from Jersey and Guernsey cows and the company has grown ever since having expanded from 100 acres in 1957 to 400 acres today.
Now into its third generation, the business was set up by Len Harvey, who is still involved, but overseen day-to-day by his son James Harvey, with James’ son Ben now the new MD.
