Aunt Mary' places a fruit smoothie-filled jug by the display of home-baked carrot cake and chocolate brownies in time for lunch, while in the corner, a man picks up a book from one of the shelves in a small 'resting shed' as another has a quick snooze on the soft carpet.
This, though, is no upmarket organic cafe with added creature comforts; this is a snacks factory in Halstead, Essex.
There is nothing typical about the Makery, the custom-built factory that became home to snack bar brand Eat Natural in March.
It is not just that staff take it in turns to choose their favourite CDs to play during working hours, nor that they are treated to occasional massages. It is also that there are so many of them, as 60 workers are involved in creating up to 2.5m bars a month (a day's output of Kit Kat bars) in an industry where a handful of machine operators are the norm.
'The factory tries to simulate production as if it were done in the same kitchen at home where we first experimented 10 years ago to create a tasty bar using top-quality ingredients,' explains Preet Grewal, co-founder of Eat Natural.
Unlike many of its competitors in the breakfast/snack cereal bars sector, Eat Natural prides itself on eliminating binders, fillers, preservatives and artificial colours. Creating a premium product that has a 65% fruit and nut content (compared with 10% in many cases) means forgoing traditional machines that crush and mush ingredients.
The recipe seems to be working, as the company has grown to a £15m turnover in eight years, with distribution in Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Holland & Barrett and Shell - a far cry from its first sale to the local post office.
'Encouraging staff to eat healthily and feel good is an integral part of creating the brand,' says Grewal. 'If we are trying to sell the concept of healthy, natural ingredients to consumers, then the makers of the products have to believe in it too.'
To make employees feel as integral to the product as a bar's typical ingredients of almonds, Belgian chocolate, coconut, macadamia nuts, glucose and honey, the company steers away from traditional job titles. Instead, employees start off as 'tasters' (their coats say 'I'm making it simple' on the back) before moving on to become tellers ('I'm telling it straight'), keepers ('I'm keeping it straight'), and eventually checkers ('I'm checking it's good').
Establishing a relationship with consumers has used the same ethos of inclusion. After striking its first major deal with a Dutch supermarket in 1999, Eat Natural embarked on a major sampling campaign using a Volkswagen Splitty van (currently parked outside the Makery) in the UK and Europe.
This coincided with the company moving into premises described by Grewal as 'bigger than a garage, but smaller than the yacht of (billionaire Chelsea football club owner) Roman Abramovich'.
After gaining distribution in retailers such as Tesco and Sainsbury's, Eat Natural carried out lengthy qualitative research. This led to a second major sampling campaign, in the summer of 2004, when it gave away bars at summer evening concerts at London's Kenwood House and Audley End in Essex as part of a tie-up with English Heritage.
At the same time, the company pursued a 'Feel good' campaign through its interactive website, www.eatnatural.co.
uk, inviting visitors to send a bar to their best friends with a personal message, completely free. 'It's all about creating relationships with consumers and getting them involved,' says Grewal.
The upshot of this guerilla-style marketing has been a 200% growth in the past two years, the fastest growth rate of the top 25 bars in the UK, and the move to bigger premises, able to churn out 4m bars a month.
Would Eat Natural now consider more mainstream advertising to press home its advantage? Wayne Smith, a partner at Inc, a graphic design company that works closely with Eat Natural, thinks not. 'Advertising almost doesn't fit with the company's philosophy,' he says. 'It can be perceived as spin. The bar's quality is advertising enough.'
TIMELINE
1976: Preet Grewal meets eventual partner Praveen Vijh while babysitting him.
1990: The pair, working in a dried fruit and nut cleaning business, meet nut importer Bill Porter.
1996: The trio conceive Eat Natural and experiment in a home kitchen.
1997: The company's first production kitchen, the size of a garage, is built. The first bar is sold to a village post office in South London.
1999: Eat Natural gains distribution in prestigious Dutch supermarket group Albert Heijn.
2000: The company begins a major sampling campaign. Listings follow in Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Holland & Barrett.
2001-2004: Following qualitative research, the company unveils 'Feel good' and 'Keep it simple' initiatives.
2005: Eat Natural moves to a site in Halstead, Essex, creating The Makery. It has capacity to create 4m bars a month. Turnover reaches £15m.
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