Amy's Kitchen ‘beating its UK sales targets’
The company, which opened a 58,000m2 factory in Corby last June, now has listings in Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose and Asda. It also supplies health food chains including Holland & Barrett, European commercial director Damien Threadgold told FoodManufacture.co.uk.
Amy's, which employs 1,500 people in the US, hopes to have listings with all the UK multiples by the end of 2012, although it was “still working on Morrisons”, he said.
The company is also due to start a Europe-wide expansion in September, exporting to Germany and France from the Corby factory.
Threadgold said: “We are producing canned soup and frozen ranges in our factory, it is performing very well. We are well past our expectations on distribution. I can't give turnover but we are well above targets, it is very exciting.”
British management team
He explained that Amy's Kitchen has recruited a British management team for its European business, which has meant that it has been in a good position to understand UK market dynamics.
Packaging and branding were among aspects of the US business that needed to be reviewed for the UK market, he added.
The UK range includes ready meals priced at about £2.50 such as burritos, enchiladas, chilli, pizza, pasta and curry, with gluten-free and dairy-free options on offer.
Amy’s Kitchen was founded in America by Andy Berliner, in partnership with his wife Rachel in 1987.
The company operates processing plants in Santa Rosa, California and White City, Oregon. The corporate headquarters is in Petaluma, California.
