A thriving meat business which already supplied pubs and restaurants across the region had a sizzling new idea in June 1983.
Staffordshire Meat Products was established in 1981 and quickly made its name distributing cold meats, pies and sausages to outlets as far away as Coventry and Mansfield.
However, owners John and Dawn Smith were not overly happy with some of the inconsistent products they had to deliver and jumped into full-scale sausage production.
Speaking in 1983, John Smith said: "We decided to manufacture our own sausages because of the lack of consistency in products from other manufacturers – we just couldn’t get the right quality."
John and Dawn Smith lived in Winshill and were born and bred in the Burton area. Despite spending 15 years in Manchester, the couple returned to Burton where Mr Smith worked in sales management for the cold meats industry.
Staffordshire Meat Products was formed by the couple and they began selling and delivering meats from the back of an estate car but grew to employ 10 people with five vans by 1983.
Working alongside the couple was factory manager Ray Alton, who had worked in the meat industry for 35 years.
A look back at Burton and South Derbyshire
Upon launching their own brand of sausages, John Smith said: "I believe people are swinging back to wanting quality products rather than just a cheap sausage. They realise that it’s false economy if you have to throw half away because the quality is so poor."
The move into sausage production involved considerable investment at the business's Electric Street unit in Burton.
