At a Glance

A leading food business

As one of the UK’s largest food producers, we’re passionate about food and believe, each and every day, we have the opportunity to enrich life for everyone. We employ over 4,000 dedicated colleagues operating from 15 sites across the country, supplying a range of retail, wholesale, foodservice and other customers with our iconic brands which feature in millions of homes every day. 

 
We operate primarily in the ambient food sector, which is one of the largest sectors within the total UK grocery market. We operate in four key Grocery categories: Flavourings & Seasonings; Quick Meals, Snacks & Soups; Ambient Desserts and Cooking Sauces & Accompaniments. Within Sweet Treats we operate in the Ambient Cakes category. Our brands are leaders in their categories with high household penetration, and 84% of our total revenue comes from branded products.

More than 9 out of 10 UK households buy one of more of our products every year, with Batchelors, Bisto, Loyd Grossman, OXO, Mr Kipling and Sharwood’s amongst our family of much-loved brands. We source our ingredients in a responsible manner to give consumers confidence that the food they buy is produced in the most ethical and sustainable way possible. In addition, the Group has a portfolio of other branded food products and a non-branded food business which manufactures products, such as cakes and desserts, on behalf of many of the UK’s food retailers, as well as a B2B business supplying food products and ingredients.

Expanding internationally

We are driving growth in our international business through the deployment of our branded growth model, with the aim to achieve critical mass in our strategic focus markets. Our largest international businesses are in Australia and Ireland, where we have established strategic relationships in our focus categories with the leading retailers in both markets. Our focus is on Mr Kipling, Sharwood’s cooking sauces and The Spice Tailor to build global brands and to create a business of scale, over time, in North America and Europe. 

Strategic partnerships

Since we entered into a cooperation agreement with Nissin Foods Holdings Co., Ltd ('Nissin') in 2016, we’ve launched Batchelors Super Noodles in a new pot format using Nissin’s noodle technology and manufacturing expertise. In addition, we have taken on distribution of Nissin’s Soba noodles and brought the Cup Noodle brand to the UK market.
 
Nissin noodles have grown UK market share significantly since 2017, and are now the market leader in the authentic snack pot market.

In 2017, we signed a new strategic global partnership with Mondelēz International to renew the Company’s long-standing licence to produce and market Cadbury branded cake, as well as home baking and ambient dessert products. The partnership covers multiple countries and has the potential to use the full range of Cadbury brands in ambient cake.

Customers

We operate a multi-format, multi-channel approach to serving a broad range of customers, including major UK supermarkets, discounters, e-commerce channels, convenience stores, wholesalers and foodservice operators.