Masham Micronized Feeds

This North Yorkshire Firm is galloping ahead down under

Masham Micronized Feeds (MMF), a division of the long established animal feed company I'Anson Brothers Ltd, has seen their international trade gallop ahead, with help from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

Their latest export success has been in Australia, where ten 22 tonne container loads of their revolutionary dried horse feed Speedi-Beet, have been shipped out since April.

MMF first approached UKTI four years ago when they were ready to take the product overseas. Simon Parker, Business Development Manager for MMF, attended UKTI's Passport to Export programme.

Mr Parker said: "I'Ansons is an old established family firm – we’ve been trading for 106 years – but we were inexperienced when it came to the export market. We were aware that there would be a huge demand for our product overseas, especially in the Southern Hemisphere where natural forage tends to be scarce.

"But we had no previous international experience, so the course was a godsend. It was expertly run and the advice and encouragement we received was superb. Going on Passport to Export was a crucial milestone in developing our overseas markets."

Speedi-Beet was launched in the UK in 2000. MMF pioneered and patented a method that drastically cuts the pre-soaking time required for the traditional product from 24 hours to less than ten minutes. Its reputation for quality and convenience has made it a huge hit with horse owners, and it quickly established itself as a strong and visible brand.

"Armed with the knowledge we'd gained on the Passport programme, we were keen to break into overseas markets, especially in the Southern Hemisphere,” said Mr Parker.

"But Australia has strict import regulations and this was quite a challenge for us. Usually importers of foodstuffs have to pay for their product to be irradiated, which is extremely costly. In order to overcome this issue, we arranged for an inspector from the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) to visit our factory here in Masham, as well as those of our suppliers, to audit our production process from start to finish. This proved to be very worthwhile as we now have a two-year permit to export the feed to Australia – without the need for irradiation."

Mr Parker has worked closely with Peter Tweddle, UKTI's International Trade Advisor at Business Link York and North Yorkshire. Together they have identified suitable target markets and MMF has commissioned tailor made research from British embassies. Speedi-Beet is now exported to over 20 countries worldwide. Peter has also guided the company through the application process for a Targeted Export Support Scheme Grant from Yorkshire Forward that will enable the company to be represented at Al Fares – a major equine trade fair in Dubai this December.

Peter said: "Working with MMF has been a real pleasure. It's good to see an established firm like theirs who were new to international trade make use of all the advice and expertise on offer and put it to good use. We wish them every success with the future and look forward to working with them closely as their export markets expand."

With another product, a quick-soaking conditioning feed called Fibre-Beet in the pipeline, MMF's foray into the export market looks set to go from strength to strength.