Bowyers

In 1805, Abraham Bowyer established a grocers shop in Trowbridge. He became known for his meat products, in particular for his sausages, and eventually specialised in meat products. Merged with Wiltshire Bacon in Chippenham and Calne, and Harris in Calne, Bowyers became part of the Marsh Bodiner Group. This allowed a capital injection which resulted in the company's move into Innox Mill, Trowbridge in 1954.

Acquired by Northern Foods in 1985, it was merged in 1990 with Palethorpes of Market Drayton into new company Pork Farms Bowyers. In 2001, the Bowyers and Palethorpes pork sausage business and brands were sold to Kerry Group, to allow the company to concentrate on baked meat products.

The company was bought by private equity firm Vision Capital in 2007, as part of a £160 million divestment by Northern Foods. With European Union legislation requiring Melton Mowbray pork pies to be produced within a defined distance of Melton Mowbray, the company chose to close the Trowbridge plant with the loss of 400 jobs, and invest £12 million into the Nottingham plant to increase Melton Mowbray pie production. Some employees were subsequently offered jobs in the Pork Farms plant at Shaftesbury.

In 2015, Vision Capital combined Bowyers with other chilled savoury pastry brands under Addo Food Group. In 2017, Addo was sold to Lloyds Development Capital, another private equity firm.