Frank Mann takes over sales for pioneering mushroom business

A longstanding Torquay wholesaler has announced a significant business expansion during what could be its most exciting year yet.

Established in 1948, the Frank H Mann Group is one of the largest independently owned fruit and vegetable suppliers in the South West of England.

Frank Mann also operates Devon Fresh, a home delivery service that took extra care of the community during the most uncertain period of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As part of its plans for growth, the company is preparing for its largest recruitment drive in history, offering a wide range of roles, including sales, driving, order picking and quality control.

Penny Davies, head of HR, said: “The team at Frank Mann has the family business ethic of working together. We're invested in each other, we tap into people’s skills and strongest areas, and we utilise them in the work that they’re passionate about doing.

“It’s a lovely place to work, and being personally invested in the business comes naturally to those that stay with us for a long time.”

As part of its expansion, Frank Mann has taken over the sales and transport operations for Forest Fungi, a Dawlish-based cafe and farm shop specialising in gourmet, homegrown mushrooms.

Forest Fungi’s founder, Scott Marshall, started the business around 13 years ago after discovering the nutritional benefits of mushrooms following a cancer diagnosis.

Jessica Peters, sales manager at Frank Mann, said: “Scott didn’t want to go down the chemotherapy, radiotherapy route, so he started growing his own mushrooms after doing a lot of research into the benefits of microdosing them. When he cured his cancer, he turned it into a super successful business.”

By taking over sales and transport, Frank Mann will allow Scott to focus on his passions, which include giving talks to cancer patients in hospitals and educating children about how different species of mushrooms are carefully grown at Forest Fungi.

The farm grows a diverse range of mushrooms, including hen of the woods, shiitake, yellow, grey and pink oysters, king oysters and lion’s mane.

Each species requires precise growing conditions, with most grown on frozen ‘logs’ covered in beneficial bacteria.

Jessica said: “The mushroom bacteria is transferred onto the logs, which are watered every 15 minutes to enable the mushrooms to grow. Any change in temperature, humidity, or water conditions, and the crop will fail, so it is a really specialised process.”

Jess explained why this partnership marks an exciting new chapter for Frank Mann.

“We have the opportunity to reach a wider range of products with such a niche product. There’s nowhere else in Devon that offers this amount of not just locally grown but also fresh mushrooms of so many different species.

“In the near future, we will be looking for pickers and packers and anyone who has an interest in mycology, which is the study of mushrooms. Anybody who’s got that kind of passion would be great because it's only going to get bigger and bigger as the weeks go by. As demand grows, we will be needing more staff in general, including drivers.”

Frank Mann invests heavily in tailored training for new starters, offering genuine opportunities for growth and long-term career development across all departments.

Recruitment open days will be announced soon, but in the meantime, those interested can contact their recruitment department via this email: recruitment@fhmann.co.uk