About 100 cases of Nim’s Fruit Crisps have been sold in the first four weeks of the deal, said Nim’s. The deal would see the air-dried fruit and vegetable crisps supplied to the UK education market and the National Health Service (NHS) from September.
Nim’s Fruit Crisps founder and ceo Nimisha Raja said: “This is a major breakthrough deal for our business and illustrates the growing demand for our air-dried fruit and vegetable crisps.
“Handmade Speciality Products, with the additional backing of its parent May & Raeburn, is now one of the largest suppliers of individually wrapped baked goods to the UK education market and has also been a listed supplier on the NHS supply chain for the past 18 months.”
Push its products
Nim’s would work with Handmade Speciality Products to push its products across the education and healthcare networks, it said. It will work with it on marketing activities and attending events, including the Lead Association for Catering in Education, Raja added.
Coventry-based Handmade Speciality Products distributes snacks – including cookies, flapjacks and cake slices – to retailers Aldi, Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda, Lidl, and more. In the next few months, it could expand its deal with Nim’s, it said.
The distributor’s national account manager James Raeburn said: “The Nim’s range offers a healthy alternative to snacking without any artificial additives, whilst still remaining a value for money offering. Within the education sector especially, caterers are constantly under pressure as to what they are allowed to offer children. Nim’s is the perfect fit as a snacking solution.
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“We are starting out with four varieties, but this could quickly grow ahead of an official launch in September where a lot of the education sector start to make their purchasing decisions.”
‘A very exciting year’
Raja added: “2017 is shaping up to be a very exciting year. Thanks to the successful Tesco ‘BackIt’ fundraising, we have now completed the branding for our Nim’s Kids range of crisps and these will be officially launched shortly.”
In December 2016, Nim’s raised £22,360 during the Tesco ‘BackIt’ crowdfunding campaign. The investment was spent on packaging, public relations and marketing, consumer and trade shows, and a part-time sales person.
Meanwhile, last month Raja told FoodManufacture.co.uk that promoting the British origin of food and drink products would pay off for manufacturers after Brexit.
Nim’s fruit Crisps also appeared in the May edition of Food Manufacture’s flagship Me and My Factory series. Raja told us how she sold her home to finance investment in her new Kent-based factory.
Nim’s Fruit Crisps new deal – at a glance
- Signed deal with Homemade Speciality Products
- Nim’s to supply education and healthcare sectors
- Full launch in September