Ross McMahon, owner and chief executive of Kendal Nutricare, told FoodManufacture.co.uk in this exclusive interview that recently being awarded a British Retail Consortium Global Food Safety AA Standard meant the company was operating at a “very high standard”.
McMahon, who rescued the factory from closure when he bought the site from Heinz two years ago for an undisclosed sum – saving 88 jobs in the process – wanted to build on the fact that his company manufactures in the UK, and sources its milk from local dairies.
‘Real provenance’
He said: “Our aim is to go back to providing a product supplied from the hinterland that has real provenance.
“We buy the milk in from 220 farmers, and we have gone back to manufacturing using full cream in the milk, with less need for vegetable oils. We believe this is a better product for infants.”
McMahon, who grew up on a farm in Ireland and has been involved in the food industry all his working life, explained that the company had a “master-agent” in China, and had signed distribution deals throughout south-east Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
To read more about how McMahon convinced Heinz he was the right man to turn the factory’s fortunes around – part of our ‘Me and My Factory’ series of profiles – order your copy of the January issue of Food Manufacture magazine.
Ramona’s Kitchen
Meanwhile, an award-winning manufacturer of Mediterranean cuisine has claimed she can grow her business on the back of the rise of the rise in number of vegetarians/vegans, and food-to-go’s increasing market share.
In this exclusive photogallery, Ramona Hazan, owner of Ramona’s Kitchen, showed FoodManufacture.co.uk around her new factory, in Watford, Hertfordshire, and explained how it would enable her to grow turnover to £5M in five years.
Do you and your factory have a story to tell? If you think you would make a suitable Me and My Factory candidate, Food Manufacture’s associate editor Noli Dinkovski would love to hear from you.