Celebrating Four Decades of Trusted Fibre Feeds, Farming, Conservation and Family Values

This year marks an important milestone for Honeychop Horse Feeds as the family owned and run business celebrates 40 years of producing quality fibre feeds.

Decades of hard work have seen Honeychop grow into one of the UK’s leading fibre feed brands, supplying retailers throughout the UK and overseas.

Robert and Valerie Honeywood founded Honeychop in 1986 as a diversification project on the family farm in rural Suffolk. Their son, Stephen, took over the reins in 1995 and now also works alongside his own son, Oliver. 

To this day, Honeychop remains true to the principles it was founded upon – quality ingredients, innovation, environmental responsibility, British farming, and exceptional customer service.

Honeychop is still proudly run from and manufactured on the same Suffolk family farm. Although the business has expanded enormously, the personal approach has never changed. No business thrives without dedicated people, and many of those at Honeychop are long serving and invaluable members of the team. Whilst Honeychop built its reputation with the much-loved Honeychop Original, the product range has continuously evolved alongside advances in equine nutrition to cater for the needs of every horse. 

Today, the Honeychop free from range has become one of the fastest growing fibre ranges. By combining evidence-based nutrition with carefully selected natural ingredients, Honeychop continues to bridge the gap between traditional forage feeding and modern nutritional science. The free from range is formulated without molasses, offers low starch and sugar levels, uses British cold-pressed oils and natural ingredients. All products in the free from range are suitable to be fed to laminitics, and to use as partial hay replacers.

One thing that has never changed is Honeychop’s commitment to using 100% oat straw. Whilst many fibre feeds simply declare “cereal straw”, allowing manufacturers to use varying mixtures of wheat, barley or oat straw depending on availability and price, Honeychop has always clearly stated Oat Straw on every bag. Quality and consistency are key and, by using only oat straw, and fixed formulations,  retailers and horse owners know that every bag they buy will be the same each time. The straw is either grown on the Honeychop family farm or sourced from carefully selected British growers who share Honeychop’s commitment to quality. The oats grown on the farm at Honeychop all go on to become breakfast cereal, giving further reassurance that the crops are produced to exceptionally high standards. 

The Honeywood family has farmed in Suffolk for more than 150 years and their knowledge and love of the countryside has been handed down from one generation to the next. Conservation measures on the farm were firmly in place long before it became an industry focus. Over many years, the farm has become home to a remarkable range of wildlife, including rare bird and butterfly species. Today, more than 15% of the farm is intentionally left uncropped, creating habitats for birds, pollinators and mammals through a range of habitats.

Stephen Honeywood said:

‘Producing high-quality fibre feeds with the best ingredients is our primary objective, but to be able to integrate this with a model which enhances sustainability and wildlife diversity through our farmed land is equally important. As a close-knit team we all work together and support each other as one big family. This is something which is very important to Honeychop, and something which I hope resonates right through our supply chain to our end user.’

The carefully selected product range delivers outstanding quality, exceptional value and attractive margins, helping Honeychop’s retail partners grow with confidence. Combined with impactful point-of-sale materials and merchandising support, Honeychop’s products are designed to maximise visibility and sales in store. A friendly sales team, with more than 140 years’ combined experience, provides dedicated, relationship-led support across the UK, working closely with customers to understand their individual needs and create opportunities for success and growth. Every partnership is further strengthened by our extensive nutritional expertise, ensuring informed advice, credible product knowledge and training and confidence at every stage. The Honeywood family is delighted that many customers who joined them some forty years ago are still proudly stocking Honeychop today!