The firm - recently ranked as the greenest food manufacturer in the UK by the Sunday Times - has seen volumes at Fakenham rocket over the past year, with sales of the recently relaunched Linda McCartney meat-free range growing at more than 40% year-on-year, according to operations manager David Matwij.
The new desserts plant, which will create 35 new jobs, will produce a range of frozen desserts for a major supermarket chain including jam roly-poly and chocolate sponge puddings, he said. “We’re planning pre-commissioning trials on August 10 and aim to supply the market a month later.”
However, the firm has struggled to replicate its Fakenham success at its Luton sandwich manufacturing facility, which recently announced plans to make up to 300 staff redundant following the loss of a major contract with Marks & Spencer.
Bosses were talking to several potential customers in a bid to secure the long-term future of the Luton site, said HR boss Graham Trevor. “Obviously the staff are very disappointed and upset, but we are a very flexible, well-invested chilled food production site capable of making sandwiches, baguettes, bagels, salads, pasta pots and a variety of other products for caterers and retailers. We have a high-quality site and a fantastic, flexible workforce.”