Today, Thursday 3 February 2022, is Time to Talk Day. Mind and Rethink Mental Illness have co-organised the awareness day, and it’s a day about encouraging friends, families, and colleagues to talk to each other about their mental health.

Muntons and Mental Health

With an easy to access Employee Assistance Programme, which provides free services including counselling, and a recently launched our Wellbeing Buddies service, at Muntons, we take our team members’ mental health seriously. Our Wellbeing Buddies are volunteers who work across various areas of the business and are available for a chat or help to signpost their colleagues to services if needed.

As part of Time to Talk Day, our Head of IT, Michael Howard, has kindly agreed to share his mental health story in the hopes it showcases the importance of talking about your feelings when things may be tough.

Trigger Warning: We wish to warn readers that Michael’s journey includes topics surrounding intense mental health difficulties, including suicidal thoughts, which some may find disturbing.

Michael starts: “Growing up in the 1990s, there was still an incredibly strong stigma about mental health difficulties. People just didn't talk about attending therapy or using antidepressants, and in particular, society didn't encourage men to open up and talk about how we were feeling physically, let alone emotionally mentally. It was OK for girls and women to cry, but men and boys? Definitely not.

“Fast forward to when I was around 27, where things went downhill for me. My relationship collapsed, and with that, I lost everything. Practically overnight, I no longer had a partner, a home, money, or friends. It was the darkest and most painful time of my life during which I experienced suicidal thoughts. I was ready to do it and knew exactly how."

"I asked for help."

“Thanks to the help of new friends, they recognised what was happening and encouraged me to talk to somebody, while also helping me to leave the house more often. So, I asked for help. I asked for a lot, and I took all that was available. Over the next ten years, I came to terms with this illness and would no longer let it control my life. About four years ago, my doctor diagnosed me with depression and so I attended therapy.

During his cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) sessions, Michael learnt various coping strategies and, through counselling, realised that he’d mistaken his mood and behaviour for typical teenage angst and that he’d been living with depression for at least 20 years.

"Things all changed because of COVID and I no longer felt in control of anything.”

“For years, I could fight my depression and anxiety, and work out a way of balancing my feelings. However, in March 2020, things all changed because of COVID and I no longer felt in control of anything.”

Just like 60% of adults in the country*, Michael’s mental health suffered during the first lockdown, so struggled more than he had done for a while, resulting in him receiving treatment for his depression and anxiety once again.

“Even though lockdown was hard, I feel my mental health journey really started in the last two years. I was stronger than I gave myself credit for and could let go of scenarios, much more and easier than before. I allowed myself to feel my emotions because they were real. Before I would have dismissed them. I finally realised it was OK to be vulnerable, especially during those difficult times.”

During that time, Michael continued to receive virtual therapy and things have turned around for him.

Things Are Looking Up

“It’s been a journey that I’m pleased I started because I dread to think where things could have gone. It’s taken me this long to get where I am mentally, and I guess I’ll never be ‘cured’. However, what I know is I can handle bad days or down moments; they’re not always down to how I’m feeling. It could have just been a bad day, which we all experience from time to time. So being down or a little overwhelmed is a perfectly normal reaction to life’s events. We’re all on a mental health problem spectrum, whether or not we realise it. I’m married and have great friends, family, and colleagues who support and encourage me to continue with my healing process. I feel lucky, but I’m proud of myself, too. It’s taken a lot of work to get myself here, and now I know what my symptoms are that I must recognise, should I have a hard time again.

“I know that 20 years ago, I simply wouldn’t have understood or sympathised with an article like this. Now, I totally appreciate the struggles of depression and anxiety. As cheesy as the cliché of ‘it’s good to talk’ is, it’s so true. We’re all struggling, some more than others, but what you don’t see on things like, social media or out and about is that other people may have a support network; their village. It’s so easy to get trapped comparing ourselves with each other, but it’s a waste of time.

It's Time for Change

“We, as a society, need to stop telling men and boys to ‘man up’, ‘men don’t cry’ or 'stop being so girlie'. They’re dangerous phrases and instil a toxic belief that men’s emotions are worthless compared to women’s. Too many generations have gone through this negative mentality, which sometimes has been the root cause of alcoholism, gambling problems, and even suicide. We must work together to allow people to believe what they’re feeling is normal and guide them to the services available. It doesn’t have to be a tablet to get you through it; if you can't open up to friends or family, then you can talk to GPs, health visitors, midwives, counsellors, therapists, or social prescribers. On the flip side, we all have a responsibility to keep our eyes open and recognise the symptoms. If you notice somebody isn’t quite themselves, invite them for a walk and a chat or go to the pub for a talk. Just by thinking: 'ask twice', asking somebody how they are, and then asking again could really turn somebody’s life around.

“Don’t be afraid of talking. By asking for help, you are doing the strongest thing a person can do and you should be proud of yourself. This too shall pass."

The Facts

One in four adults in the UK will experience a mental health problem in any year. Suicide in England and Wales is three times more common among men than among women, and the gap between genders continues to increase.

If you or you know somebody who is struggling with mental health, then please seek help immediately. You can find how, including information about text services to what to do during a crisis, by clicking here.

* Mind - The Mental Health Emergency

Nigel Davies, Director of Technical and Sustainability, is to step-down from Muntons on 5^th April, following a tenure of almost a quarter of a century. Leaving in the spring, Nigel will move on to focus on his consultancy and will continue to be a sustainability advisor to the 100-year-old maltster.

The long-standing Director has been a key player in establishing Muntons’ green agenda for over two decades before businesses put the topic at the forefront of their strategies. He also designed and launched Muntons’ malting barley carbon footprint support tool, which was the first of its kind in the world.

Ahead of his departure, Nigel said: “It’s certainly with a heavy heart that I’m leaving Muntons after working here for most of my career. I am proud of what we have achieved together and how far we have come. I remember facing boycott and disinterest in sustainability at conferences in the early 2000s, and now we’re recognised as the thought leaders in our industry. This has encouraged me to provide sustainability consultancy.

Muntons is also announcing the appointment of Adrian Dyter as its new Head of Procurement and Technical from 21st February.

A familiar face within the brewing and distilling community, recently Managing Director for Crisp Malt, and with major roles previously with Carlsberg and Boortmalt, Adrian is hugely respected in the industry.

Reflecting on the changes, Muntons’ Managing Director, Mark Tyldesley, said: “It’s been an honour working with Nigel, and I am grateful for all the work that he has done. His passion for making our industry a greener one has spearheaded us into leading the way and winning accolades such as our recent platinum EcoVadis Medal, putting us in the top 1% of sustainable businesses in the world. He’s going to be sorely missed. Alongside that, I am delighted that Adrian agreed to join the business. His knowledge and experience within the industry, coupled with his proven leadership ability, will add huge value to Muntons at a time when we are looking to continue to grow. We look forward to welcoming him to Muntons and are excited for his future with us.”

Adrian adds: “I’m tremendously excited to be joining the team at Muntons and meet my new colleagues to build and deliver on the sound strategy that’s already in place. Muntons is a business with a great reputation, heritage, and diverse portfolio, and so it's an honour to be part of its next 100 years.”

We're delighted to announce that EcoVadis has awarded us a platinum medal in sustainability performance. This rating puts us in the top 1% of global companies assessed and further highlights us as a leader in sustainability.

EcoVadis is the world's largest independent corporate social responsibility (CSR) rating agency and assesses over 85,000 businesses in 160 countries and 200 industries. It reviews a company’s performance in four key pillars: environment, labour and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. Across the board, Muntons scored 75 out of 100 in the audit, well ahead of the global average of 47.

Companies partner with EcoVadis to collaborate on sustainability with a common platform, universal scorecard, benchmarks, and performance improvement tools.

More Recognition for Muntons

Muntons added the accolade to its ever-expanding list of recent achievements, including the Environmental Leadership Award at the 2021 Food and Drink Federation's awards and the Baking Industry Awards' Sustainability Initiative of the Year Award. The 100-year-old business impressed judges with its investment and innovation carried out on its new biomass heating system along with the co-generation of electricity. This, in part, represents Muntons' commitment to sustainability and reduces its environmental footprint in line with a net-zero carbon emissions target. The company is on track to achieve its science-based target early and will decarbonise by over 60% based on 2010 emissions.

Director of Technical and Sustainability at Muntons, Nigel Davies, said: “It’s an honour to be awarded the EcoVadis Platinum Award. As a business that has set science-based emissions reduction goals as part of our sustainability strategy, the medal recognises our commitments as an industry leader.

“We’re serious about our sustainability initiatives, and the work we do allows us to support our customers and suppliers build greener supply chains and therefore improve the industry’s methods throughout. The platinum award recognises our performance is consistently high in the wider sustainability issues, such as ethics, human rights and procurement."

Find Out More

If you'd like to learn more about our greener ways of working, then check out our sustainability report by clicking here.

Trigger Warning - the following piece talks about death by suicide and cancer. 

Each year, communities around the world honour International Men’s Day on 19 November. The emphasis of the day is to showcase men who make a positive difference to society and focus on men’s health and wellbeing issues.

At Muntons, we’re once again encouraging our male team members, customers, suppliers, and partners to remember the importance of protecting their health and, in particular, their mental health.

Recently, we launched our Wellbeing Buddies scheme. These ten volunteers signed up to be available to their colleagues in times of need, for support or simply a little chat.

Our Wellbeing Buddies, many of whom have lived experience of mental health difficulties and represent most areas across Muntons, are available for chats, fitness advice, financial support. They can also signpost their colleagues to more formal support, such as counselling services via our employee assistance programme.

One such Wellbeing Buddy is Matthew Neeve, Homebrew Production Manager, based at Stowmarket.

Father of three, Matthew became a Wellbeing Buddy because he wanted to support his peers, and in particular male colleagues to: “Fight the challenging stigma that makes men feel like they can’t and shouldn’t talk about their mental health.”

Matthew’s drive to volunteer stems from the heartache and depression he lived through after a friend of his died by suicide in 1997 and, more recently, his pain after the untimely death of his sister Joanna, who died from cancer.

“Following Joanna’s death, I went into a dark place, and I don’t mind saying that. The grief encapsulated me; I didn’t feel I could talk about it, nor did I know how to, even if I wanted to. My whole family life had changed; my niece and nephew were now orphans and went into legal guardianship of my parents. They all needed me and my support, as did my family, who had just lost a great sister-in-law and aunt.

“I eventually realised how down I was and how I couldn’t cope with the day-to-day life. After having a panic attack in the office, I knew I had to do something. So, I spoke to my HR team, who mentioned we have access to counselling services and directed me to Muntons’ Employee Assistance Programme. The Programme matched me with Ray, with whom I developed a trusting relationship, and we would regularly catch up for a chat.

“He taught me the importance of talking about how I was feeling and how my reaction to what had happened was perfectly acceptable. With his help, I stopped feeling embarrassed and, in time, I relaxed during our sessions. I learnt that talking about my emotions, or even just how my day had been, was enabling me to process it all and I could release all the emotions and thoughts that I had.

“Over the years, I’ve become confident in talking about my experiences. It’s no different to talking about symptoms of the flu. I haven’t met or spoken to one person who has no experience of dealing with mental health problems, whether it’s themselves, a friend, or a family member.

“I don’t understand why there’s a narrative of ‘men don’t talk about their feelings’, or where it’s coming from. What I know is that telling somebody to ‘man up’ is incredibly dangerous. If you’re not honest about how you’re feeling, then you won’t feel better; all you’ll do is store everything up inside, which isn’t healthy. As soon as you’re able to talk about what you’re going through, then do so. There’s nothing to feel ashamed about.

“When Muntons put a call out asking for Wellbeing Buddy volunteers, it was a no brainer for me; of course, I was going to sign up! I want to help my colleagues, whoever they are and whatever department they’re in, to know they have people who won’t judge them. I have my battle scars; so many of us Buddies do too, and even if it’s a five-minute chat with somebody to guide them through the services available to them, then that’s perhaps five minutes less that they’ll live with their depression or anxiety in the future.”

If you're living with mental health difficulties, or know somebody who is, there are organisations and services available to help. Click here to find out more.

On World Mental Health Day 2021, we introduced team members to the first group of volunteers who've signed up to be our Wellbeing Buddies.

The scheme, which is the first of its kind at Muntons, saw a recruitment drive launched during Mental Health Awareness Week in May. Since then, ten team members have kindly agreed to be available to their colleagues in times of need, for support or simply a chat, and we have given them training.

The Wellbeing Buddies, who represent most areas across Muntons, are available for chats, fitness advice, financial support and can signpost to more formal support such as counselling services via our employee

assistance programme.

Our culture and policies at Muntons ensure we treat everybody with the respect they deserve; and by running a scheme like our Wellbeing Buddies, we're opening up opportunities to remind our team members that we care and that we encourage them to speak with confidence and dignity about their mental health.

If you are living with mental health difficulties, or know somebody who is, there are services and organisations available to help. For further information, just click here.

Muntons, the Stowmarket based malt and malted ingredient manufacturer, is kicking off a year of celebrations in honour of its 100th year in business.

The maltster plans to mark its anniversary with a series of commemorative events to celebrate the business’ longevity.

Plans include gifts and a family fun day for team members, an Olympic torch inspired event that sees the Muntons flag travelling around the globe with all colleagues signing it, and the planting of a 100-year woodland area, with a tree planted for every team member based at the headquarters site at Stowmarket.

From its origins in Bedford, Munton Baker-Munton established the maltster on 27 September 1921. Breaking away from the family business, which had been trading malt and grains since the 1800s, Baker-Munton aimed to meet the needs for malt extract within the brewing and food industries.

Over the last 100 years, Muntons has embarked on a continuous transformation alongside the ever-evolving food and drinks market. As a key ingredient found in beer, whisky, bread, confectionery, and cakes to name just a few, resiliency, adaptability, innovation, and accomplishment have all been key in Muntons’ journey. This mentality of its team members has allowed the business to support its customers embrace product development through its expertise in all things malt related.

Fast forward 100 years and Muntons is well-established in the malt and malted ingredients industry; supplying products to some of the world’s most loved food and drink brands. Now based in the Suffolk countryside, Muntons has its second maltings in Bridlington, with a peating malt plant in Tithe Top, also in Yorkshire. Internationally, it exports its products to over 90 countries, has offices in Singapore and the Netherlands, a plant in Thailand and a sales operation in the USA.

For over 30 years, Muntons has consistently focused on its sustainability commitments, rising to the challenge of being a responsible global player in the malt industry. More recently, the construction of a bio-energy plant at its Cedars Maltings at Stowmarket has started. The new bio-energy plant, which is being worked on in partnership with AMP Clean Energy, and Vital Energi, is near completion and will reduce carbon emissions by over 50%, allowing the headquarters site to become fully self-sufficient for heat. This is the second bio-energy site that the business has invested in. The first one operated at its Flamborough Maltings in Bridlington in 2019.

Speaking about the anniversary, Managing Director for Muntons, Mark Tyldesley, said: “To be going strong for 100 years is an achievement that all of us at Muntons are incredibly proud of. Supporting customers with the creation of some of the world’s favourite food and drink for a century is an honour and underlines how passionate we are about malt.

“Our team members play a huge role in the strength of our business. We’re fortunate to have some of the best experts in the industry, some of whom have been with us for over 40 years! These colleagues ensure they pass this knowledge down to the next generation of malt specialists.

“It means a great deal to all of us to be a much-trusted maltster both in the UK and abroad, and so I extend my thanks to our loyal customers, suppliers and team members who have made this possible.”

Enjoy our 100 years video!

Monday 2 August marked the day we received the first harvest delivery day of the year at Stowmarket. A day which is important for us, our farmers and customers alike.

Peter Paddy writing the date of the first delivery taken of 2021's harvest

As is the tradition since 1978, we have written the date down on a girder inside our intake building to celebrate the first crop deliveries of the year. This year, we have handed the marker pen over to Peter Paddy, Intake Supervisor, who has seen 19 harvests with us. Thanks, Peter!

Fun fact: The last time we had a new crop delivery in August, occurred 20 years ago to the date - 2 August 2001!

For more information about our products, click the below:

Brewing and distilling malts

Malted ingredients (food and beverage)