Premier Foods renews Loyd Grossman brand partnership and announces £36m investment in Worksop site
• Investment to upgrade and expand the existing cooking sauces manufacturing facility at Worksop, more than doubling production capacity for cooking sauces and improving efficiency
• Extension of licensing agreement with Sir Loyd Grossman, underscoring continued confidence in the strength of the brand
• Total investment of £36m, the largest by Premier Foods in over 15 years, and phased through to 2029
Premier Foods, one of the UK’s largest food businesses, has unveiled a £36 million investment in its Worksop manufacturing site. The investment will see Premier Foods bring production of its Loyd Grossman cooking sauces in-house from a third-party supplier in early 2028, while providing the opportunity to significantly upgrade production capacity and improve efficiency.
Alongside the investment, Premier Foods is pleased to announce an extension of its brand licensing agreement with Sir Loyd Grossman. The agreement, which has been in place since the partnership began in 1995, will be extended until 2034, with the option to extend for a further five years. This underscores the continued confidence in the strength of the brand which has grown on average 4.7% a year in the last five years.
The £36m investment will be phased through to 2029 and involves the installation of a new high speed manufacturing line, which will drive efficiency and productivity. Following the upgrades, the Worksop site will more than double annual production capacity for the Group’s cooking sauces’ brands, supporting future growth opportunities and providing enhanced capabilities for innovation. As part of the investment, site storage facilities will be upgraded and expanded and a new link road built to streamline the flow of logistics around the site.
Production will be brought in-house in early 2028, with the capital investment in the site expected to be phased through to 2029. This will secure the long-term supply of the brand and is in line with a key pillar of Premier Foods’ growth strategy to invest in supply chain capability to increase efficiency and productivity.
Throughout our partnership with Sir Loyd Grossman, new product innovation has been a key driver of sales growth. Launches have included the extension into pizza with the Loyd Grossman Pizza Range, and a no added sugar range tapping into consumer demand for healthier options. This year we launched a range of premium sauces to celebrate 30 years of the partnership and meet consumer demand for making restaurant quality meals at home. This launch was also supported by a digital campaign targeted at younger consumers.
Alex Whitehouse, CEO, Premier Foods, commented: “A key pillar of our growth strategy is investing in our supply chain to increase productivity and efficiency. Representing our largest site investment in over 15 years, today’s announcement is a great example of this strategy in action. It will enable us to more than double our annual cooking sauces production capacity, supporting growth opportunities and providing enhanced capabilities for innovation across our cooking sauces’ brands, while improving the site for our colleagues.
Renewing our partnership with Sir Loyd Grossman reinforces our belief in the future of this brand and our ability to continue to drive growth through the application of our Branded Growth Model. At the heart of it all is our commitment to UK manufacturing and to the Worksop community, where we’re proud to be investing for the long term.”
Sir Loyd Grossman added: “I am thrilled to be extending our long-standing partnership with Premier Foods, whose commitment to quality and innovation has been central to the success of the Loyd Grossman brand. We share a passion for creating great-tasting products made with the very best ingredients. This renewed agreement reflects our shared ambition to keep innovating and to bring our sauces to even more customers across the UK.”
In addition to underlining Premier Foods’ commitment to the local area and to UK manufacturing more broadly, the new funding will strengthen the future of the site, which employs around 500 colleagues, as well as creating upgraded amenities.
It follows a recently announced £19 million investment into Premier Foods’ Lifton Creamery in Devon, home of Ambrosia custard, to increase production capacity in response to growth in consumer demand for porridge pots, improve efficiency and support local jobs. The Group more than doubled infrastructure investment in the two years to FY24/25 and is targeted to spend a total of £55m in FY25/26.
At our Worksop manufacturing site, we currently make Sharwood’s, Loyd Grossman and Homepride cooking sauces, as well as other brands such as Batchelors, Bisto, Saxa and Oxo.