What do hand-faxed purchase orders, multiple currencies, and a warehouse full of premium snacks have in common?
They’re all part of a story about a business growing faster than its systems.
Kestrel Foods — home to Forest Feast, Acti-Snack, Just Live A Little, and Indie Bay — is a leading UK snack manufacturer known for high-quality ingredients and premium packaging. But behind the polished branding was a fast-growing business navigating the kind of operational complexity many food manufacturers face.
Why This Isn’t Just Their Story - It’s Probably Yours, Too
You might not be faxing POs anymore (we hope).
But if you're in food manufacturing or FMCG, you’ve likely wrestled with at least one of these:
- Inventory systems that can’t keep up with demand
- Manual processes that grow more fragile as your team scales
- A finance team juggling currencies, spreadsheets, and stress
- Compliance paperwork that feels like a second full-time job
- Disconnected data - across stock, sales, purchasing, and dispatch
So, instead of sugar-coating issues, they chose to future-proof their operations with a smarter, scalable system.
Lessons to Take Away
Kestrel Foods joined forces with De Facto, and together we integrated De Facto ERP. BUT this post isn’t about the software. It’s about mindset.
Here’s what their story can teach you:
- You know it’s time when workarounds become your workflows.
- If “just export it to Excel” has become your answer to everything… you’re probably overdue for a system rethink.
- Growth exposes weakness. Good systems fix them.
- Expansion isn’t just about more orders - it’s more pressure on accuracy, adaptability, and compliance.
- You don’t have to start over. Just start smarter.
Kestrel didn’t change how they worked - they found a system that fit how they already worked, but better.
Want the Full Story?
Packed with flavourful insights on how Kestrel Foods turned complexity into control with De Facto ERP.
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