RHosie Brown, Cook’s chief executive, never planned to become a chief executive. She first trained as a nurse, then tried her hand at politics; then banking. But after initially struggling to find her niche, Brown now heads a prepared food business ranked as the best place in the country to work in the food and drink industry and is committed to helping others find their way in the world of work.
Last year, the co-CEO of the ethical frozen food business took over from shoe repair chain boss James Timpson as chairman of the Employment Advisory Board network, a government-backed program started by Timpson that works with more than 90 prisons.
She says she “grew up thinking it was completely okay to hire people who had barriers to employment.”
Brown’s parents were entrepreneurs who hired former drug addicts to run their small cafe and bakery. So when she joined Cook in 2000, three years after her brother Ed Perry (her co-CEO) and his chef friend Dale Penfold opened a store in Farnham, Surrey, she wanted to find a similar way to “make an impact” and approached three local prisons.
“There is great talent and wonderful people in prison. There are a lot of traumas, difficult backgrounds and difficult lives that brought people to prison in the first place. The re-offending rate is too high and employment is the best way to stop this. [that]. So it’s great for the community. It’s great for communities. If we can do this, it will be great for everyone.”
She wants the government to incentivize more businesses to recruit ex-offenders through tax breaks such as employers’ National Insurance contributions (Nics) or using funds from apprenticeship fees to support additional training. “At the moment, the companies that are doing this, like us, are doing it out of their own pocket,” Brown says.
Cook has hired 250 people through a program called Raw Talent, which Brown launched a decade ago to help people find jobs after prison, homelessness or other problems. Graduates of the program, who occupy jobs in Cook’s stores and kitchens in Sittingbourne, Kent, make up around 5% of Brown’s workforce.
Helping ex-offenders is just part of the family business’ ethical stance, which also includes sourcing all its meat from Britain, providing discounted food for social events, paying a real living wage (which it has done for ten years), offering workers profit-sharing bonuses and even providing access to a holiday home in nearby Deal.
Not only is the company certified as a B Corp, but Brown’s other brother – James Perry, who is also Cook’s chairman – co-founded the UK movement behind the scheme, which requires businesses to adhere to ethical and environmental standards.
“We have a very strong sense of independence,” says Brown, eating pancakes at the company headquarters.
The group does not sell through supermarkets, preferring its own network of about 100 stores. The company also installs its own freezers in more than 1,200 independent retail locations, sells online and implements new ideas such as vending machines for hospital workers. The company plans to open eight new stores and at least 100 more concessions this year, as well as expand its online subscription service, which includes food boxes for new parents – a key way to attract new fans.
Brown says a move to employee ownership is not out of the question one day, but for now, “the business is largely family owned and operated and there are no plans to change that.” Although they have some outside shareholders, they are not just focused on “getting that number in the bottom right corner of the table.”
Still, there’s a lot to be excited about in the spreadsheet for now. Business has boomed during the pandemic as Cook has benefited from a sudden surge in interest in home food delivery. While other similar businesses have struggled since then, Cook has managed to attract a whole new group of customers.
Sales rose almost 13% to around £120 million in the year to the end of March 2024, and pre-tax profits jumped to £2.5 million – up almost 80% if a huge insurance payout related to a cyber attack in the previous year is excluded. The company’s shareholders, half of whom are the Perry family and the rest outside shareholders, paid themselves a dividend of £1.25 million.
Growth continued last year, with sales again up about 10%, Brown said. The target for next year is to achieve revenue of £150 million.
The food isn’t particularly cheap, with a fish pie for two costing £11.50, which is slightly more than the Charlie Bigham equivalent, although you get an extra 125g from Cook. Cheaper options include vegetarian home pie for £7.60 or Korean chicken wings for £4, and there are 10% discounts for new parents. However, the company has been raising prices over the past two years, with further increases possible this fall.
Brown admits the situation is becoming increasingly difficult, with labor and ingredient costs rising, including rising beef prices, which will cost the business £1.1 million more this year. Prices for eggs, lamb, cocoa and butter are also rising.
Brown says people are right to be concerned about “the state of British agriculture” and that she would “like to see more government intervention on this issue”.
“I think food is fundamental to a healthy society. So I would definitely like to see it bring more energy and focus,” she says.
She adds that “the Chancellor has made it much more difficult for business and economic growth. They said they wanted growth, but in reality they have put up a lot of barriers to economic growth.” [it]”
Brown says Cook won’t skimp on ethically sourcing ingredients or paying its workers, who stir huge vats of cheese sauce, hand-finish sausage rolls and make sure every fish pie contains the right combination of ingredients. However, the group is facing the challenge of finding ways to increase automation in its kitchens.
“What we won’t compromise on is handmade attachments made by skilled craftsmen. But there are attachments, in sealing and packaging or elsewhere, where I think we could be more efficient.”
The business has already weathered difficult times, including the pandemic, cyberattacks and the 2008 financial crisis, when sales fell 10%. “We got through it,” Brown says. “We’ve gotten really good at managing cash flow.”
“I think it just brings focus,” she says of current price pressures. “We don’t want to pass all this on to customers. [them] goes without saying, so we have to get smarter.”
resume
Age 49
Family Husband; three sons 20, 18 and 15 years old. “Dad lives with us too.” Two dogs, two cats.
Education Monkton Comb School.
Last vacation Girls skiing with cousins.
Pay “Our salary difference is no more than 12 times. [higher than] the lowest paid.”
Best advice she was given “A good relationship at work requires three things: a shared goal, clarity about who is doing what, and recognition of each other’s views and contributions.”
Biggest regret “There are problems with people that I would treat differently now I’m a little older and wiser.”
A phrase she overuses “Let’s look at the organizational chart!”
How she relaxes Dog walking, magazine writing, TV and theater, friends and family.