Direct Meats

What Direct Meats does

Direct Meats / Blackwell & Co. is a UK-based artisan meat processing and butchery business established in 1995 by third-generation farmer Martin Blackwell. Operating from Knights Farm in Chappel, Essex, the company produces dry aged beef, Italian-designed cured pork, bespoke butchery cuts, burgers and sausages, and an artisan charcuterie range co-developed with partner Dingley Dell Pork. The technical foundation rests on dedicated dry ageing chambers, specialist Italian-designed curing rooms, artisan fermentation processes for charcuterie, and a curated supply network spanning Dingley Dell Pork, Creedy Carver, Earl-Stonham Wagyu Beef, Trenchmore, Ben Rigby Game, and Japanese Wagyu - enabling full farm-to-customer traceability and welfare-standard provenance.

The business operates a direct B2B sales model across catering, wholesale, retail and export markets, serving both award-winning independent chefs and restaurants and large UK and international food and retail accounts. Distribution is asset-intensive: the company runs its own specialised transport fleet, a 24-hour dedicated phone line, a delivery monitoring system, a bespoke inventory system, and has explicit capability for international export by sea and air. Pricing is bespoke by bulk order and is not publicly disclosed. The firm has won The Queen's Award for Enterprise (International Trade 2020) and The King's Award for Enterprise (International Trade 2024), with the founder personally meeting King Charles at the 2024 ceremony.

Commercial strategy is dominated by brand-led, sales-driven execution: the company emphasises provenance, sustainability (including the One Million Bees initiative), and royal endorsement as core differentiators. In 2024 the business rebranded from Direct Meats to Blackwell & Co. to better reflect family heritage, supported by an EU European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development grant for food processing machinery and equipment. The company is privately held, family-controlled, with no external institutional investor or parent entity disclosed in the data, and a stated headcount in the 101-250 range.

Name

Direct Meats

Legal name

Direct Meats (Knights Farm) Ltd

Website

https://directmeats.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Direct Meats / Blackwell & Co. is a UK artisan meat processor and master butcher, founded 1995, producing dry aged beef, Italian-cured pork, bespoke butchery, and Dingley Dell charcuterie for catering, wholesale, retail and export markets worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Meat Processing

NAICS

Animal Slaughtering and Processing (3116), Meat and Meat Product Merchant Wholesalers (424470)

SIC

Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products (2013), Meat Packing Plants (2011)

akta.pro primary industry

Pork Further Processing (Cured, Smoked, Ham, Bacon) (AFANABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refrigerated Meat & Charcuterie Wholesale (AFAIAHAI), Game & Specialty Meats Wholesale (Venison, Bison, etc.) (AFAIADAG)

Keywords

• Premium meat processing
• Dry aged beef
• Artisan charcuterie
• Bespoke butchery services
• Meat wholesale supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Colchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Meat Products Sales: B2B sales of premium meat products including dry aged beef, cured pork, charcuterie, and bespoke butchery to catering, wholesale, retail and export customers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Direct Meats (trading as Blackwell & Co.) is a UK-based master butcher and charcuterie producer that manufactures and supplies premium processed meat products—dry aged beef, dry aged pork, cured meats, artisan charcuterie, burgers, sausages, and bespoke butchery cuts—to catering, wholesale, retail, and export customers in the UK and worldwide.

Product overview

Direct Meats (now Blackwell & Co.) operates as a master butchery and charcuterie business serving the catering, wholesale, retail, and export markets. The company offers a portfolio of meat products including Dry Aged Beef, Dry Aged Dingley Dell Pork, Bespoke Butchery, Burgers & Sausages, Cured Pork, and Dingley Dell Charcuterie. The product range is built on partnerships with specialist farm brands including Dingley Dell Pork, Creedy Carver, Earl-Stonham Wagyu Beef, Japanese Wagyu, Ben Rigby Game, and Trenchmore. The company operates dry ageing and curing capabilities, providing both artisan whole cuts and processed meat products to chefs, restaurants, food businesses, and retailers in the UK and worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dingley Dell Charcuterie: Artisan range of fermented sausages, salami and charcuterie produced in partnership with Dingley Dell Pork on the East Suffolk coast.

Products and services

• Dry Aged Beef Premium dry aged beef with a global reputation, used by famous chefs; supplied to catering, wholesale, retail, and export customers.
• Dry Aged Dingley Dell Pork Specialist dry aged pork produced in partnership with Dingley Dell Pork on the East Suffolk coast, supplied to chefs, restaurants, and food businesses.
• Bespoke Butchery Artisan butchery service offering precision-cut quality cuts including joints, steaks, chops, cutlets, t-bones, and tenderloins, selected for breed, quality, and taste, supplied to chefs, restaurants, and food businesses.
• Burgers & Sausages Quality burgers and sausages crafted with precision and care from selected meat cuts, supplied to catering, wholesale, retail, and export customers.
• Cured Pork Specialist bespoke cured pork products produced in Italian-designed curing rooms, supplied to catering, wholesale, retail, and export customers.
• Dingley Dell Charcuterie Artisan range of fermented sausages, salami and charcuterie created in partnership with Dingley Dell Pork on the East Suffolk coast, supplied to chefs, restaurants, and food businesses.

Quantifiable outcome

• Each year, in partnership with Dingley Dell Pork, they feed 1 million bumblebees, helping to plant hundreds of thousands of grass and wildflower seeds

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Dingley Dell PorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Dingley Dell Pork on the East Suffolk coast for the production of artisan charcuterie, fermented sausages, and salami. The partnership also supports the One Million Bees initiative, feeding 1 million bumblebees annually and planting hundreds of thousands of grass and wildflower seeds to support wildlife diversity.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Karro Food Group: Major UK pork processor supplying cured, smoked and added-value pork products to retail and foodservice; competes with Direct Meats in cured pork, bacon and ham categories from a much larger scale.
• Pilgrim's UK (Pilgrim's Pride): Major UK poultry and added-value protein producer supplying retail, foodservice and wholesale; a broad incumbent competing for similar foodservice protein budgets though focused on poultry rather than beef/pork.
• Dunbia (Dawn Meats): Cross-border red meat processor (UK and Ireland) producing beef and lamb for retail, foodservice and export — comparable to Direct Meats' dry-aged beef and broader beef processing activities from a much larger footprint.
• Cranswick plc: One of the largest UK vertically integrated pork and added-value meat producers, supplying premium sausages, cooked meats and charcuterie to retail and foodservice — the most direct large-scale comparable to Direct Meats' cured pork and processed meat operations.
• Tulip Ltd: UK's largest pork processor producing bacon, gammon, cooked meats and sausage products for retail and foodservice; overlaps directly with Direct Meats' cured pork and burger/sausage lines.
• Dawn Meats: Leading European beef and lamb processor with significant UK operations supplying retail and foodservice; competes in the same premium beef and supply-chain traceability space as Direct Meats but at much greater scale.

Regional players

• Foyle Food Group: One of Europe's largest beef processors, primarily Northern Ireland/UK, supplying retail and foodservice with red meat products; comparable processing capability to Direct Meats but operating at far greater scale in beef.

Emerging players

• Cannon & Cannon: UK specialist charcuterie supplier curating and distributing artisan cured meats to chefs and retailers; an emerging specialty comparable focused on cured meats distribution rather than in-house production.

Direct peers

• Cobble Lane Cured: London-based artisan charcuterie producer focused on cured meats, salami and small-batch production for chefs and restaurants; the closest like-for-like competitor to Direct Meats' Dingley Dell Charcuterie range in craft, scale and channel.
• Trealy Farm Charcuterie: Welsh artisan charcuterie producer making air-dried and cured meats for UK chefs and delis; directly comparable to Direct Meats' Italian-curing-room charcuterie in craft positioning and channel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/directmeats

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Direct Meats