Glebe Farm has appointed Tony Holmes as its first chief operating officer.
The appointment comes following a period of growth for the oat milk company, which Holmes will help to continue by leading the growth ambitions of the business across its oat, oat drinks and cereal divisions.
He previously held a consultancy role at Glebe Farm and has now been made permanent. Holmes has worked for 30 years in the sector, having launched The Health Lottery and held senior roles at Bestway, Appletiser and Coca-Cola Enterprises.
“Having experienced first-hand how dedicated Glebe Farm is to development, I am very happy to take up this role,” said Holmes. “The business is entering a new stage of growth and we have some very exciting plans in motion.’’
The company hopes the new appointment will enable it to reach carbon-neutral status in the next five years and scale both the B2B and B2C sides of the business.
“We have big plans to accelerate growth and grow share within the UK’s oat drink market, showing that British really is best, and Tony’s experience will be pivotal in helping us achieve this,” said Philip Rayner, founder and MD. “Being a family farm, it was a big decision, and I’m confident that with Tony’s pre-existing understanding of the business and commitment to our mission, 2023 will be a great year for us and the British oat.”
This comes following the publication of Glebe Farm’s Farmers Market Report, which found that environment and sustainability are important factors for most plant milk consumers, but alone aren’t enough to drive deeper engagement with non-vegans.
Glebe Farm is working to improve awareness of food miles in the oat milk sector, and the report found consumers are familiar with food miles and believe it is the most important factor to include when calculating the environmental impact of food and drink.
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