Bakkavor celebrate its SouthWest community heroes in Highbridge and Devizes

With more than 1,200 colleagues across its Highbridge and Devizes sites, Bakkavor Desserts is this month celebrating its dual role as a major Southwest employer and an active community partner – investing in wellbeing, skills, and local initiatives.

From making millions of cheesecakes, trifles and chilled desserts for supermarket shelves nationwide – to sponsoring local youth projects and volunteering in the community – Bakkavor is recognising its colleagues’ commitment to supporting community life in Somerset and Wiltshire. For many years, Bakkavor’s Southwest-based teams in Highbridge and Devizes have made a positive societal contribution through financial donations, charity of the year projects and the volunteering of its people.

Highlights of Bakkavor’s work in the community:

• In Highbridge, volunteers joined litter picks at Apex Park and Burnham-on-Sea beach, alongside making regular food donations to Moorland Trust Community Hall.

• In Devizes, Bakkavor supported 14-year-old Buddy Muns’ “Lunch Box Buddy” holiday hunger campaign with a £1,000 donation, funding a week of free meals for children in Wiltshire.

• Local fundraising has also benefited Secret World Wildlife Rescue, with over £3,400 raised through colleague initiatives and matched funding.

• The Devizes site also celebrated local role model Siobhan Golding, who won a national Bakkavor award for her work raising awareness of financial wellbeing and life assurance planning.

Supporting colleagues in the workplace:

Bakkavor’s long-standing commitment to supporting community projects is mirrored in the workplace, where Bakkavor invests in the health and wellbeing of its colleagues, as well as celebrating the long service of many of its local colleagues.

• Supporting staff wellbeing, both sites have opened new state-of-the-art colleague facilities with significant investment in modern canteens, well-being areas, subsidised staff shops and quiet spaces for rest.
• Across both sites, Bakkavor has also trained all its 169 managers in Mental Health Awareness, launched new wellbeing spaces, provided physio and occupational health access, and even introduced a Menopause Café in Devizes as part of its national wellbeing campaign.

• In Devizes and Highbridge, long-serving colleagues continue to be celebrated – with more than 100 people recognised for service milestones in the last year, including two employees who reached an impressive 30 years with the business. The sites have also run a month-long Culture and Diversity programme, celebrating the contributions of colleagues from more than 40 countries.

John Bowman, General Manager of Desserts Southwest said: “People are truly at the heart of Bakkavor. We’re proud of our journey that started nearly 40 years ago — but even prouder of the people who’ve made it possible. The same entrepreneurial spirit that launched Bakkavor continues to drive us today, powered by the passion and dedication of our people. Every colleague plays a part in our success, whether that’s making award-winning desserts or volunteering to support local causes. As we look to the future, our focus remains the same: to grow together with our people and the communities we’re proud to be part of.”