HECK, the family-owned sausage and burger business based in Bedale, has won a national award for innovation and growth.

The company, which was started by Andrew and Debbie Keeble in 2012, makes more than two million sausages a week, and has just increased its 2015 predicted annual sales from £7m to £11m.

It beat three other finalists to win The Telegraph Festival of Business award, run in association with Amazon, which celebrates the brightest and best British businesses that demonstrate real innovation and stellar growth.

HECK was only established in 2012, but is now the most popular premium sausage brand in the UK. The judges praised its tenacity and were impressed by its fast-paced growth.

It recently announced plans to relocate to a much larger, single site in Sinderby, near Thirsk, and double its 38-strong workforce.

The brand has also benefited from increased consumer awareness about the origin of food products.

When the World Health Organisation recently warned about the dangers of eating too much red and processed meat, HECK sold 70 tonnes of sausages in seven days as customers switched to premium varieties, in particular their lower fat and gluten-free chicken sausages and burgers from which they’ve seen huge success.

The company plans to open its new factory to visitors so they can see the top ingredients used and the inner workings of its production line and food making processes.

The family has invested £2m in the company this year and is also on a mission to encourage youth enterprise in the food sector.

More than 90 per cent of HECK’s workforce is aged under 25 and the day-to-day running of the company is managed by the Keebles’ four children – Ellie, Roddy, Jamie and Guy plus several of their close friends.

The young team is passionate about food and is destined to follow in the entrepreneurial footsteps of Andrew and Debbie Keeble.

The family received a huge boost when they appeared on BBC’s The Fixer in September 2014. Since the programme, they have all taken on more senior positions and helped secure more supermarket deals. They supply Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Morrisons and Booths and more discussions are underway.

Andrew Keeble said: "The past three years have been amazing but this has got to be the best year yet and winning the Telegraph award really is the icing on the cake.

"We’ve seen a huge rise in sales on the back of increasingly health-conscious customers who are looking for their favourite sausages and burgers in a healthier form and we’ll be continuing to develop different and exciting ideas that meet these needs."

The new HECK building will include a centre of excellence to promote food awareness, healthy living and to explain the family’s food production process.