Who’s behind Hobbs House Bakery, and how did it all start?

We’re the Herbert family – sixth-generation bakers who have been baking in and around Bristol since the 1920s. Originally, we baked in Montpellier as the famous Herbert’s Bakery, where we introduced the first organic loaf to Bristol. Fourty years ago, we made the move to Chipping Sodbury, becoming Hobbs House Bakery, and have been baking our signature loaves ever since.

It very much remains a family business, run by two brothers (George and Henry), their sister-in-law (Anna), and Uncle Sam. Our strength lies not just withing our own family, but in the multiple generations of other families who work with us too.

Baking runs through generations of your family, what does that mean to you?

Throughout the years, we have continued to focus on baking all our bread using quality ingredients and traditional methods. We make bread as you would at home, just on a larger scale.

As a generational business, it is just as important to share our family recipes and knowledge with the next generation of bakers. Over the last five years, we’ve had the pleasure of introducing an apprenticeship scheme at Hobbs, giving our new bakers the opportunity to gain hands-on experience while learning from some of our most experienced bakers, many of whom have been with us for decades.

We’ve been incredibly fortunate to continue growing in our original home of Chipping Sodbury – from a small bakery behind the shop to a 25,000 sq foot site, still based in Chipping Sodbury. Over the last ten years, we have expanded and developed our site at Hatters Lane. This had enabled steady, sustained growth and investment in improved equipment, while still baking many of our family recipes that have been used for decades.

What has stayed important to you as the bakery has grown and evolved?

The number one thing for us at HHB is our core and family values. They keep us grounded as we continue to grow. Simply put, our purpose is to nourish our people and community for generations to come.

As we’ve grown, we have continued to work alongside some of our longstanding suppliers to maintain our quality. One of these being Shipton Mill, from whom we’ve been sourcing our flour for over forty years. We work together to maintain strong relationships between farmer, miller, and baker, ensuring we produce the highest quality grain and achieve consistency in our loaves.

As a local company and employer, our community is everything to us. It’s fair to say that recent years have shown how fragile the world around us can be, and without our wonderful customers, we might not be in the position we are today. We’re always looking for ways to back. A real highlight is years of a shared partnership with Better Food, which enables St Werburgh’s Food Bank to receive surplus bread.

Sustainability is clearly an important part of how Hobbs House operates, how does that show up in the way you run the bakery day to day?

For us, sustainability is embedded in everything we do and every decision we make. With flour being our main ingredient, we have set ourselves a goal of ensuring all our grain comes from healthier soils by 2032. On this journey, we have been able to dive deeper into organic and regenerative farming methods, both of which we believe can help us achieve our healthy soils goal.

By working closely with our millers, we have been able to connect with local farmers, giving us the opportunity to stand in the fields and watch the journey of our grain growing. We have recently secured another harvest of flour grown just ten miles from our bakery to be used in our Organic Wild White Sourdough and Organic Seeded Sourdough – ultimately reducing our carbon impact and investing in our local food system.

We also ensure that no bread is wasted, prioritising baking the right amount, with any surplus going to local charities. We then work with local farmers who take surplus dough or any damaged products for animal feed!

Hobbs House was the first bakery in the UK to become B Corp certified. What does that mean for how you run the business?

Back in 2019, becoming a B Corp felt like the natural next step for us at HHB, aligning closely with our strong company values. We were going through a period of transition as a business, and the B Corp framework gave us the structure we needed to stay grounded and clear on our purpose.

All these years later, it continues to hold us to the highest standards when it comes to our impact on the planet, people, and community. Simply put, being a B Corp ensures that we use our business as a force for good in every decision and across all areas, ultimately making it sustainable for generations to come.

What do you think sets Hobbs House Bakery apart from other bakeries today?

At a time when people are often looking for ways to cut corners and reduce costs, we continue to use traditional methods and quality ingredients in all our products, drawing on our 100 years of baking experience.

Real bread is made by real people, with real ingredients, and it takes time.

Do you have a favourite loaf or product in the range?

It has to be our Organic Light Rye Sourdough!

We still use the original Herbert’s Bakery recipe that we made in Bristol in the 70s. I love the simplicity of the loaf – made using only three ingredients, it’s something you feel good after eating.

Toasted rye, a thick layer of butter and marmite, alongside a four-minute boiled egg, is comfort food at its best. A great start to a tired morning.

What do you hope people feel eating one of your loaves?

For us, it’s all about nostalgia – taking people back to what bread used to taste like before food became full of additives and ultra-processed ingredients.

Many of our customers remember eating our bread as part of their childhood, so we want to remain a source of comfort.