Two chefs smiling and enjoying a meal together in a professional kitchen, wearing navy pinstriped aprons as they taste dishes from bowls.

Making a real difference. With over 65 years of commitment and expertise.

Food is never just food. Since 1958, we’ve brought comfort, dignity and connection to every mealtime - from care homes and hospitals to schools, local authorities and homes across the UK with Wiltshire Farm Foods.

Our values

Four values on every plate.

Each segment of the apetito plate stands for a promise we make with every meal. Pick one to see what it means.

Great food starts with great ingredients. It’s why we select only the best for our meals. It’s the same for produce too. This, combined with the expertise of our chefs, ensures every meal delivers the flavour, nutrition and consistency people deserve, because we believe you should look forward to every meal.

We believe everyone should be able to look forward to nutritious and tasty food. Our chefs, dietitians and nutrition experts create meals for a wide range of dietary needs, including texture modified and energy dense options.

 

We also maintain the highest food safety and hygiene standards, and nothing leaves our kitchens unless we know it is allergen and pathogen free. Our onsite microbiological, chemical and allergen laboratories make sure of this, and are independently approved by the Campden Laboratory Approval Scheme.

For us, great service is personal. Whether we’re working alongside a customer or delivering meals to someone in their own home, our people take the time to listen, understand and help. It’s how we build trusted relationships and make a difference beyond the meal.

We’re committed to doing business responsibly - caring for people, communities and the planet. From achieving Net Zero by 2040 and sourcing ingredients with integrity, to supporting our charity and community partnerships and creating a workplace where our people can thrive, we’re building a more ethical and sustainable food system for the future.

Over 65 years of innovation and improvement.

For over six decades we’ve continued to be at the forefront of innovation in food and catering services. We constantly work with our teams and partners to improve our meals, range, services and ways of working.

Archive photograph of an early apetito kitchen

1928

Waldens Wiltshire Food founded in Trowbridge.

1958

apetito Germany was founded by Karl Dusterberg.

Home delivery meals ready to serve

1960s

Waldens experimented with emerging frozen food technology, producing a range of frozen meat pies for the bakery sector.

apetito team delivering charity meal boxes

1970

Working with the London Borough of Wandsworth, Waldens started producing frozen ready-made meals for the local meals-on-wheels service.

Solar panels on the Trowbridge kitchen roof

1971

In Germany, apetito began working with the Red Cross, developing frozen meals for the country’s meals-on-wheels service.

1971 onwards

1971 onwards

Both Waldens and apetito became market leaders in their respective countries.

1991

1991

apetito entered the UK market, looking for opportunities to expand in Europe, and Wiltshire Farm Foods Established.

1994

1994

apetito Services formed to provide meals-on-wheels to local authorities.

1995

1995

Westminster Meals Limited became the first private contractor to successfully bid for a complete meals-on-wheels service.

apetito also acquired Walden's Wiltshire Foods, developing quality products for community meals and other innovative solutions.

1998

1998

Westminster Meals Limited changed their name to apetito Services.

2000

2000

After dipping a toe into the healthcare market, apetito decided to launch our own dedicated healthcare division.

2002-2004

2002–2004

Expanded into Peterborough, Leicestershire, West Berkshire and Swansea.

2005

2005

We won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation for our revolutionary Chefmobil meals-on-wheels delivery van.

2008

2008

Our Care Homes business unit is launched.

2010

2010

We launched our first texture modified range of meals.

2011

2011

We reached £3.5 million sales for our Care Homes service.

2016

2016

Our texture-modified meals won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation.

2017

2017

Used our expertise in nutrition to launch our Nursery meals service.

2018

2018

Wiltshire Farm Foods rebrand

2020

2020

Launched our independent School meals service.

2024

2024

Won the King's Awards for Enterprise in Sustainable Development, with our 'Project Boomerang', a ground-breaking recycling initiative, a key contributor.

Coming soon

Coming soon

Kitchen West

Aerial view of apetito’s manufacturing and distribution facility, showing multiple industrial buildings with rooftop solar panels, delivery vehicles and surrounding grounds.

Proudly rooted in Trowbridge. Driven by our purpose.

Wiltshire has been our home for over 65 years, with one simple purpose, to make a real difference to people's lives through food. Today, we support hundreds of thousands of people across the UK, and our commitment to quality, nutrition and care is stronger than ever.

Awards

The King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development 2024

In 2024, we were awarded The King’s Awards for Enterprise in Sustainable Development, recognising our commitment to making a positive impact on the environment, society and economy.

A key contributor was Project Boomerang, our world-leading closed-loop recycling scheme for plastic meal trays, developed through Wiltshire Farm Foods. The pioneering initiative was the first of its kind at an industrial scale, supporting our ambition to reach Net Zero by 2040.
The award marked our fourth Royal honour.

Previous Awards

  • 2005: We were awarded The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation for our revolutionary Chefmobil meals-on-wheels delivery vanIn 2016, our texture-modified meals won The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation.

  • 2016: Our texture-modified meals won The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation.

  • 2019: We won The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development for conducting business in a way that impacts positively on the environment, society and economy.

Kings Award logo 2024 sustainable development white

Learn more

Get the latest news on awards we've won.

apetito Names 2026 Healthcare Estates and Facilities Heroes

16 Jun 2026

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50 Million and Counting: apetito Reaches Landmark Recycling Milestone

26 May 2026

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The Power of Choice Architecture: apetito Cuts Carbon with ‘Green Brochure’

17 May 2026

Read now

Take the first step today

Book a free, no-obligation, discussion with our team today.