Amy’s Kitchen starts production with Amy onboard
Andy and Rachel Berliner founded the vegetarian frozen ready meals and canned soups company in 1987, and named it after their newborn daughter Amy Berliner.
Now 24, Berliner (pictured, centre, at a younger age) told FoodManufacture.co.uk that she arrived in the UK last week for a one-year stint at Corby as sales and marketing co-ordinator.
As one of the US’s most successful independent food brands, the company now employs more than 1,500 people in the US.
Amy’s Kitchen operates processing plants in Santa Rosa, California and White City, Oregon.
Production trials
Berliner said that production trials at Corby are nearing completion. Products such as gluten-free vegetarian lasagne, lentil vegetable soup, split pea soup and macaroni cheese have already passed taste and quality tests.
She admitted that her arrival in the UK had caused a stir. “We are already getting fan mail from people in the UK. We have two letters just in,” she said.
The company will sell canned soups, priced at around £1.45, and ready meals such as Mexican, Indian and Italian dishes priced at around £2.50.
Amy’s already has distribution deals in place with major supermarkets Asda, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s and is “working on Tesco”, Berliner said.
She added that a total of 30 staff are in place for launch. The 58,000 sq ft Corby site has the capacity to accommodate 200 to 300 staff over the next two to three years.
The company will produce ingredients such as tofu on site, and will also can its own soups. Amy’s Kitchen hopes to gain organic certification by the end of the year.
