It all began in a factory in a little Lake District town. Discover how more than 60 years of manufacturing heritage, a factory facing an uncertain future, and one family's ambition laid the foundation for the Kendamil brand we know today, now reaching families around the world.
It All Started in Kendal
If you've ever visited the Lake District, there's a good chance you'll have heard of Kendal. It's a traditional market town known for its independent shops, surrounding countryside, and, of course, Kendal Mint Cake. What you might not realize is that tucked away in this corner of Cumbria is a factory that's been making infant nutrition products for more than 60 years. Long before Kendamil existed, British pharmaceutical company Glaxo built the site in 1962 specifically to manufacture infant milk, beginning a history that would eventually involve Farley's, Boots, and Heinz. By 1999, under Heinz's ownership, the site had become a European Center of Excellence for infant formula and cereal research and development.
Behind the company names were generations of local employees who'd developed specialized skills and passed their knowledge on to colleagues. Some spent much of their working lives at the factory, which had become an important part of Kendal's community. Unfortunately, by the early 2010s, changes to production and layoffs meant its future looked uncertain. At its busiest, the site had employed around 300 people, but numbers had fallen considerably. The possibility of losing the factory also meant potentially losing decades of experience that had been built up right here in Kendal.
A New Chapter
Ross McMahon had spent much of his career in food and nutrition, and when the opportunity arose to acquire the factory from Heinz, he could see what was already there: specialized facilities, experienced employees, and a business worth investing in. In June 2015, Ross acquired the site and established Kendal Nutricare, protecting 88 local jobs. For the people who'd worked through years of uncertainty, it was a pretty significant turning point.
Initially, Kendal Nutricare continued manufacturing for other companies, including Heinz, while Ross and his team developed their longer-term plans. The ambition was to create their own infant formula brand, drawing on the expertise already available at the factory. In 2016, Kendamil was born, taking its name from the town where infant milk had been made for more than half a century. It wasn't a case of choosing a pretty Lake District location for the packaging. The factory, the people, and the experience had been here long before the brand had a name.
Keeping It in the Family
As the business grew, Ross's sons, Will and Dylan McMahon, joined him, bringing experience in finance and technology. By 2017, the workforce had grown to 118, and Kendal Nutricare had been named UK Business of the Year at the FSB and Worldpay UK Business Awards, as well as Exporter of the Year. Not bad for a business that had only been established two years earlier.
Today, Kendamil reaches families across the UK, US, Canada, and beyond, although the factory's history remains a big part of who we are. Some of our colleagues have spent decades working in infant nutrition, developing knowledge that takes years to build. The business has changed enormously since 1962, and that's exactly the point: each chapter has helped make the next one possible.
It's also why we wanted to create Tales from the Lakes. There are so many people, places, and traditions around Kendal that we'd love to introduce to families who might never have visited. We thought the best place to start was with the factory that made everything possible.
Welcome to our little corner of Cumbria.
