Since being established in 1987, we’ve been dedicated to making the very best of handmade fudge. With 35 shops across the United Kingdom and fudge fans across the world, we’ve come a long way so far.

To celebrate we have a history page all about where Roly’s Fudge Pantry started, or read on for more…

The 16th century thatched cottage where Roly’s Fudge began

Where did it all begin?

30 years ago, in 1987, Roly’s Fudge as a company first started to take shape. It all began in the 16th century cottage in Devon where Peter and Lindsey Riley set up their home.

Selling produce grown at the farm at a farmer’s market was hard-work, so, using her grandma’s 150-year-old recipe, Lindsey made a batch of what would soon develop into Roly’s Fudge.

The first batch was made and rolled on their kitchen table, and served up to family and friends. It wasn’t long until the plate was empty and Lindsey was being asked for a second. Peter and Lindsey realised they had stumbled onto something great and had to bring the taste of traditional, handmade fudge to everyone!

After buying an antique copper pot, and sterilising their kitchen marble slab, the first true batch of Roly’s vanilla fudge was produced. It took weeks of tinkering to improve the recipe and make it the best crumbly fudge possible.  Once ready it was time to open the first Roly’s Fudge Pantry in Torquay, Devon.

The first Roly’s Fudge Pantry

People flooded into the fudge pantry! Peter and Lindsey worked day and night to keep up with the demand, specialising in just five handmade fudge flavours: Vanilla Clotted Cream, Chocolate, Butterscotch, Rum ‘n’ Raisin, and Maple & Walnut. All these flavours used only the best ingredients they could find.

When their row of shops had to make way for a new shopping centre, Roly’s Fudge moved to Barnstaple. But through word of mouth the popularity of the business spread, and shops were opened in new locations around Devon, including Totnes and Paignton.

With Roly’s Fudge becoming ever more popular, franchising became the best way to reach customers across the country. This allowed others the joy of running their own fudge pantries, whilst Roly’s Fudge kept its values of being authentic and handmade. The very first franchisee was Ilfracombe, which is still there on the harbour some 20 years later.

Since then shops have opened everywhere, with 35 shops from Yorkshire and the Lake District to the South West!

All our fudge pantries remain independent shops on the high street. Every new shop is individually fitted out, with franchisees making the best crumbly fudge possible each with their own individual character and feel. No factories, no supermarkets, and no artificial colourings or flavours!

Join the celebrations!

To celebrate, we have a new gold wrapping paper on all our Roly’s Fudge gift wrapped boxes – look out for it in your local Roly’s Fudge Pantry or select the gold option at checkout when you place an order of traditional fudge.

New flavours and tasty products are coming soon – stay in tuned by signing up to the Roly’s Fudge newsletter in the footer, or following up on Facebook!