Timeline
The Beginning Of Island Delight
In 1988, Island Delight was born thanks to Wade Lyn’s vision: bringing his favourite snack at home in Jamaica, the Jamaican Pattie, to the UK. Wade, with his natural leadership, began his campaign for more Caribbean food in the UK by starting up his own business, Cleone Foods.
Island Delight Is Brought To Life
Following the inception of Cleone Foods in June 1988, Island Delight manufacturing began in 1989 at Alma Street in Birmingham. Initially 5,000 patties were produced weekly and shipped mainly to small retailers in Birmingham and London. Furthermore, the expansion was rapid. Soon third party distributors and warehouses across the UK including Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds were on board with the brand.
New Home: Move to Icknield Street
In 1994 the company grew too big for Alma Street and moved to Icknield Street on the edge of the Jewellery Quarter. Spoiler- Icknield Street has now been home to Island Delight for 27 years. Learn more about Island Delight’s development
First Island Delight landmark- Listing With ASDA
Within a year of the move to Icknield Street, Island Delight had secured an extremely important retail listing with Asda. This was initially just for their Perry Barr store, but soon was stored in others too. Wade saw this as a significant achievement as he gained business with one of UK’s largest supermarkets- a personal goal of Wade was fulfilled.
A Second Supermarket Contract With Tesco
In 1997, Tesco became the second supermarket that Island Delight landed a contract with. Initially this was for their London stores. To emphasise the rise of Island Delight, within three years Island Delight patties were available in over 100 supermarkets across England. Wade Lyn began to realise his vision had greater potential than he first imagined.
Sainsbury’s Support The Island Delight Rise
By the end of the 20th century, Island Delight were a big player in the UK Caribbean food market. 1999 saw Island Delight achieve another stockist in Sainsbury’s- this was the start of an incredibly strong and fruitful relationship between the two. Today, Island Delight is an exclusive Jamaican pattie in Sainsbury’s
First Cheque from Safeway
Another landmark for Island Delight arrived in 2001 as our customer base was augmented with the addition of Safeway.
Morrisons Reinforce Island Delight’s Appeal to UK Consumers
Perhaps predicted with the preceding success concerning supermarkets, Island Delight could now be found in Morrisons from 2002. Almost 20 years on and Island Delight is a customer favourite for a spicy snack. Thousands of Island Delight patties and ready meals are sold in Morrisons every month.
Expanding Our Product Portfolio With Flaky Pastry
Wade’s aptitude to sense opportunity, experience, knowledge and expertise led to the decision to diversify with new product lines. The Island Delight family of products was developed with the addition of flaky pastry. By considering consumer interest and trends, Island Delight were able to shrewdly position in the UK Caribbean food market so that the brand accommodated a variety of consumer tastes. The difference between Shortcrust and Flaky pastry: how the pastry is made- flaky pastry has butter layered throughout the pastry forcing the layers apart when in the oven to give that flakiness.
BITC Responsible Small Business of the Year “Big Tick”
Cleone Foods, parent of Island Delight, secured the accolade of being the overall winner of 2012 Santander Responsible Small Company Award at the Business in the Community’s (BITC) Awards for Excellence. It was held in London on Wednesday 27th June and attended by HRH The Prince of Wales.
Wade Lyn, Island Delight Founder, Awarded CBE
Wade’s contributions and services to the UK have been recognised; receiving Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2013. An incredible personal achievement for the man behind Island Delight. Wade’s service to the community with his kind nature of sharing knowledge and helping others played a predominant role in attaining this title, in combination of generating success in the West Midlands with his entrepreneurial skills.
Island Delight Sponsors Invaders Mas
Island Delight has a responsibility to deliver Caribbean flavour to those that otherwise wouldn’t experience Jamaican culture. With the Pattie being a staple food in Jamaica, it plays a significant role in the Carnival celebrations. Island Delight and Notting Hill Carnival have a strong relationship: we attend the area to provide patties in abundance to stalls- these stalls are then able to distribute Jamaican flavour through our patties to a myriad of joyful carnival-goers.
We, at Island Delight, mark our love for Carnival by sponsoring Invaders Mas- the Mas Brand we feel express the vibrant energy we associate with the Caribbean. We have been sponsor of Invader Mas since 2013. About Invaders Mas: ‘Invaders Mas embodies colour, fusion and dynamism. Originally founded as Invaders Sound several years back, we are a group of passionate individuals focused on providing masqueraders with a combination of fun filled vibes and culture’.
Traditional Caribbean Meals Join The Island Delight Family
In 2015 we expanded our Caribbean flavour with the addition of Jamaican-based ready meals. As we focus on providing authentic Caribbean taste, we also consider the convenience of consumption. With our ready meals, you can sit back and relax whilst the oven cooks up the goodness for you. Our dishes are based on traditional, authentic Jamaican recipes.
Stance On Becoming A More Sustainable Business Strengthened
In 2016, we made a significant step by installing solar panels across our site’s roofing that would help us move forward in becoming a more sustainable business. Wade Lyn asserted that “Doing the best we can for our community and for the planet lies at the heart of everything we do, and our solar panels and low-emission vehicles are an important part of this vision. Our sustainability journey is an ongoing process and we will continue to look at what more we can do as we move forward and continue to grow”.
Change of Fleet to Lower Emission Vehicles
Our stance on sustainability was reinforced as the vehicles which deliver our fresh patties to customers changed to low-emission. Implementing this change helped us to reduce the carbon footprint of our weekly deliveries to our customer base.
Wade’s Order of Distinction (CD)
In August 2020, Wade was awarded the role of Commander in the office of Distinction by the Government of Jamaica.
Sustainable Packaging
Here at Island Delight, we are committed to ensuring our own company as well as our customers make more sustainable choices. This is through our sustainable packaging solutions. A big change we made this year was with our ready meals: we made the move to sustainable packaging with Evolve- this involves using entirely post-consumer recycled materials for our ready meal trays. By adopting these environmentally-friendly methods, we are able to work towards our sustainability goals without compromising on quality, cost, or food hygiene.
Switching to Evolve food packaging is the latest action we are taking towards reducing our carbon footprint. The sustainable packaging solutions truly represent the reflection of the European PET recycling stream. Made from rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate), Evolve packaging revolutionises packaging for food.
Wade Lyn Appointed DL for West Midlands
Island Delight founder, Wade Lyn, is appointed Deputy Lieutenant for the West Midlands in 2021.
BRC AA Accredited site- Safe Environment For High Quality Island Delight Patties
In 2021, we received the highest of grading from our BRC audit, achieving AA. We can now proudly say we have consecutively achieved the highest possible grade. As Island Delight patties are produced in a safe environment, we are able to deliver the finest Jamaican products to market.
15+ Years Zero Waste to Landfill Policy
Cleone Foods has a zero waste to landfill policy. We use anaerobic digestion to produce energy from our food waste- this has been ongoing for more than 15 years.
Today
Wade has played an integral role in bringing Caribbean foods into the mainstream. To this current day, Wade’s presence remains strong at the heart of the business, overseeing Cleone Foods’ operations. With production booming, producing roughly 190,000 high quality, authentic patties every week, we are able to share true Jamaican flavour to UK Consumers- the Island Delight promise. Our team of around 65 employees help us keep the Island Delight promise.
Island Delight patties can now be found in hundreds of stores nationwide and this is continuing to grow. Our Jamaican goods can be located in over 1000 Sainsbury’s stores alone. Despite the success, Wade has remained humble as the very first cheque received from Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons are framed in the Cleone Foods boardroom.
