A Story of Reinvention
In late 2019, Simon opened a large axe‑throwing venue with a Texas‑style smokehouse BBQ restaurant. It was a huge passion project — but when COVID hit, hospitality was crushed. After three and a half difficult years, he made the tough decision to close the venue in February 2023.
To pay the bills, Simon took a job driving a truck from 4am until lunchtime, leaving his afternoons free to figure out what came next.
Rewind to 2022, when travel reopened. On a long‑awaited trip to America, Simon tried a toffee he’d never seen in the UK — “Almond Toffee” or “Butter Crunch.” It had a cookie‑like crumble, a buttery snap, and none of the tooth‑breaking hardness of British toffee. He fell in love with it instantly.
Back home, he tried to buy some. Nothing. Not in shops, not online, not even in Europe. The only option was shipping it from the US.
That’s when the idea struck: bring this incredible toffee to the UK — but make it even better.
Simon wasn’t content to simply replicate the American version. He wanted to elevate it. So he began experimenting with the creamiest butter from Jersey cows, coating both sides of the toffee in the smoothest Belgian chocolate, and making the toffee by hand in small batches to ensure perfect texture and consistency. The goal wasn’t imitation — it was improvement.
For nearly three and a half years, Simon spent his afternoons perfecting the recipe — batch after batch — until he recreated the texture he remembered and refined it into something truly luxurious. To test the market, he handed out single‑piece samples with a QR code for reviews. After more than 150 glowing responses, he knew the UK was ready.
Now, in August 2026, Atherton Toffee is launching its original Almond Toffee: thin, crunchy, coated in milk chocolate and diced almonds. Available in two sizes — a 1lb luxury gift tin and a ½lb pouch for personal indulgence.
I fully intend to keep my driving job to cover the bills and make the toffee each afternoon — which means every batch is small, personal, and limited.
Luxury gift or indulgent treat? You decide.
What’s Next
With the original Almond Toffee perfected, Simon is already developing several new flavours for release in 2027 — possible candidates include dark chocolate with candied ginger, white chocolate with freeze‑dried raspberry, and caramel chocolate with crumbled caramel biscuit.
