The factory in Redditch, Worcestershire, is now 100,000 sq ft in size, and a company spokeswoman told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “Some savoury products were already made at the UK site but the extension provides capacity for the installation of high speed, dedicated savoury lines where we will initially be manufacturing savoury soups and sauces for some major UK retailers.”
Although no new jobs have been created as a result of the expansion, she added that it is expected to lay the foundation for future growth.
Winning new business
Md Richard Bailey said: “Alongside increasing our services to leading UK retailers, the last few years have seen us achieve significant new business wins including blending, packaging and distribution services for Drink Me Chai [a powdered blend of spices, tea and skimmed milk].
“The factory extension allows us to meet existing customer demand while continuing to pursue opportunities to work with new customers across a variety of sectors,” he added.
“We shall be able to offer dedicated sweet and savoury production lines and manufacture products at our UK site, such as sauces and bouillons, which have traditionally been made in Hügli’s European factories.”
No closures elsewhere
The company said the expansion had not resulted in closures or scaling-down in other Hügli production plants. “All new business is incremental to existing sales,” the spokeswoman added.
Hügli was established in 1935 and has a global turnover of £250m, £16m of which is generated in the UK. Products include soup, stock cubes, bouillon, sauces, hot drinks, milkshakes, meal replacements and slimming and sports nutrition products.