Northumbrian Fine Foods to invest £1.2M
About 40 new jobs will be created by the investment at the Gateshead facility.
The company said the investment followed soaring demand for biscuits in the ‘free-from’ sector, that had driven an 80% rise in the manufacturer’s turnover over the past five years.
The investment included a biscuit baking oven that would increase production capacity at NFF by 40%.
NFF said it planned to focus mainly on the manufacture of ‘indulgent’ cookies, rotary moulded biscuits and baked bars, such as Granola.
Own-label products
The company manufactures both own-label products for supermarkets and products, marketed under the Prewetts premium gluten-free biscuits brand.
The Prewetts brand had enjoyed “recent success”, with a significant expansion of its gluten-free range to include milk-free biscuits, ‘indulgent’ all-butter cookies and individually wrapped chocolate-coated biscuit bars, it claimed.
About 60% of the UK’s gluten-free sweet biscuit production was carried out at the NFF site in Gateshead, said the manufacturer.
The new bake transporting oven will become fully operational by September and the recruitment process had already started.
‘Testament to the hard work’
NFF md Stewart McLelland said: “This investment is great news for Gateshead and is testament to the hard work of everyone at Northumbrian Fine Foods.
“We have seen significant growth in the ‘free-from’ market for our ‘indulgent cookies’ and other biscuits, especially from the multiple retail sector.
“The new baking oven will play a key role in meeting current demand and also ensure that we can continue to grow the business significantly over the coming years.”
He revealed that the company was planning further extensions to its range that would focus on everyday favourite biscuits in a variety of formats.
The 40 new jobs created by the investment would see total employment at the plant increase to about 200 people.
United Biscuits’ gluten-free launches
United Biscuits has also joined the gluten-free market with the launch of two new products into the free-from aisle.
McVitie’s Gluten-Free Original Hob Nobs and McVitie’s Gluten-Free Milk Chocolate Hob Nobs will roll-out to stores from early July.
Kerry Owens, McVitie’s brand director, said: “The free-from sweet biscuit segment is one that continues to expand, with 55% of UK consumers now open to buying gluten-free products.
“As the market leader in the main biscuit aisle, free-from is an important sector for us to expand into, to ensure McVitie’s moments are open to all of our consumers with specific dietary requirements.”
