Pork scratching fans owe a debt of gratitude to Brett Earp’s gran. It was his search for a pork scratching as good as his gran’s that inspired him to develop his own recipe, and to go on to create award-winning business The Shropshire Scratching Company.
Earp had grown up eating the scratchings his gran made at home, and spent years trying to find any that were cooked as well and offered as much flavour.
When the search proved fruitless, he decided to make his own and offered them to his close friends to get their verdict.
“Many of his friends are from the Black Country so are natural pork scratching connoisseurs,” says his partner, Leanne Earp. “They loved them and encouraged Brett to push them to the local butchers and farm shops around their own home in Shropshire.”
The reaction encouraged Brett, who already had a well-established career in marketing and company development, to team up with his son Tom to launch The Shropshire Scratching Company.
“Tom is a natural on the camera and started making videos on social media to promote the product and spread the word of what they were doing,” says Leanne.
Meanwhile, Brett had been experimenting with seasonings and flavours, which led to the development of four flavour variants designed to complement the rind: Traditional Old English, Thai Sweet Chilli, Salt & Cider Vinegar and Sweet Maple. The scratchings are packaged in foil-lined bags to prevent the product being compromised by external light or temperatures.
“They took the products to the local Shrewsbury Market Hall and the butchers were more than happy to stock them,” adds Leanne.
“We are sticking to our core values of cooking to Brett’s recipe, keeping the quality of the product at the core of what we do”
The business went on to sell its scratching at events including the Shrewsbury Food Festival, where they almost sold out after an extremely busy weekend. The same thing happened when they attended the Ludlow Festival.
“We realised the demand for a high-quality snack was there, and we knew our cooking recipe and seasonings were a hit,” says Leanne. She adds that, as a small family business, they have been careful to ensure that as they grow they do not lose attention to detail, service or quality.
“We are sticking to our core values of cooking to Brett’s recipe, keeping the quality of the product at the core of what we do.”
Following the success at the shows, and growing demand across the country, the business employed its first full-time scratching salesperson and has recently taken on a second. Demand also received a major boost from the brand’s appearance at the Farm Shop & Deli Show, which was held at the NEC Birmingham in April.
“We’ve had enquiries from huge retail outlets, garden centre groups and leisure companies, not to mention the large pub chains,” says Leanne.
The brand’s appearance at the show also gave it an opportunity to shout about its success in the 2026 Farm Shop & Deli Product Awards, where its Traditional Old English, Thai Sweet Chilli and Sweet Maple scratchings were all awarded gold.
“We were clearly over the moon at winning gold, which really did secure in our minds that we are doing something right,” says Leanne. “It shows people love the traditional method of cooking, and that there is a move away from the mass-produced snacks which offer little taste or quality.”
“Being a small family business and entering into such a huge market of giant corporation can be intimidating,” she adds. “Winning these awards gives us confidence in our brand to push forward, and give more people access to our brilliant snack.”
“I know Brett’s gran would be very proud of what he has achieved in her memory.”
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