Mary Berry sells dressings, sauces and chutney firm

Mary Berry, star of BBC One’s The Great British Bake Off, has sold her dressings, sauces and chutney business Mary Berry & Daughter to fine foods distributor RH Amar.

FoodManufacture.co.uk understands the acquisition price was in the region of £1.25M and that the cash looks set to be split among her immediate family.

Some reports of the deal are understood to have greatly inflated the company's profit figure, which stood at £200,000 in the last full year.

‘High profile’

“RH Amar is very excited about the Mary Berry brand at a time when her career has such a high profile,” said a spokesman for RH Amar, which is based at High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire.

“We have already had tremendous success with the brand and we look forward to even greater success with it in future.”

The business, which was set up in 1994 and changed its name to MBD Foods in February, was one of three companies Mary Berry has interests in. The dressings and sauces it supplies are made with free-range eggs, are free of genetically modified ingredients and have no artificial additives.

RH Amar imports and distributes more than 40 speciality and fine food brands in the UK, including Starbucks coffee beans, Budweiser-branded sauces and Thorntons cookies.