Oast House Farm Snacks has been accredited by the British Franchise Association (bfa) as a provisional member, a listing available to businesses with a successful trading record in the UK of at least one year, when in the process of developing a franchised business.

Matthew and Amanda Simmonds, co-founders of Oast House Farm Snacks, comment: “We’re extremely proud to have been recognised by the bfa so soon after setting up the franchise. We founded the business in 2012 with the aim of supporting a local hospice through selling snacks in workplaces, and over the 18 months we’ve developed a robust franchise system. Others can now use our model to help more hospices fundraise for their services in local communities across the country.”

Matthew’s extensive experience in the franchise sector over the last 10 years helped him develop a strong franchise agreement that meets the bfa’s Code of Ethics and he was able to demonstrate that the model is based on the high standards of franchising practice that the bfa expect. As a result the bfa accredited Oast House Farm Snacks as a provisional member within a very short timescale.

“As the franchise grows with new franchisees coming on board, we’re all focused on achieving the standards for Associate Membership of the bfa,” explains Matthew. “I feel strongly that for a franchise, and its franchisees, to succeed there needs to be a robust system in place including an experienced head office team, a proven model, a high quality offering and strong training support, which is exactly what we’ve created.”

Oast House is currently recruiting franchisees for territories across the country with the assurance that they’ll have the business up and running quickly. As well as helping franchisees to create a personal business plan, the head office team provides a full training programme from registering as self-employed to getting the systems up and running, and they negotiate the corporate fundraising contract with the local hospice.