Branston managing director James Truscott said Fell would be leading a priority area of the business in what is a newly created role.
“He will be working closely with myself, our executive board and the wider prepared team throughout our period of expansion. Richard has a wide range of skills and experience and we are excited to welcome him on board.”
22-year history
Fell joined the company from canned food specialist Princes, were he spent the past nine years in charge of business transformation. Prior to this, he has held senior roles across several food firms during his 22 year within the industry, including Premier Foods and Rank Hovis Milling.
Commenting on his appointment, Fell said: “I’m really pleased to be joining the Branston executive board, it’s a huge privilege and such an exciting time for the business. I look forward to sharing my experience with the team and being a part of its new journey.”
Branston’s appointment of Fell will support a planned investment of £12m by the company to expand its prep factory in order to provide more capacity to meet increasing customer demand.
Introducing new tech
The company said the new venture would allow it to introduce new technologies and capabilities and a protein plant that would extract vegan protein from waste potatoes, creating new products and customers.
Truscott added: “This investment will support our business growth plans and give us the ability to not only expand our prep business, but also develop new products and customers, enabling us to grow our workforce throughout 2021 and beyond.”
Meanwhile, vegan meat alternatives brand Cauldron has appointed former Mars director Tom Lindley to the newly created role of business unit head.
Marco Bertacca, chief executive of Cauldron parent company Quorn Foods, said: “We have big ambitions for Cauldron, and we are confident that Tom can help us build on the brand’s successes and drive the brand forward.”
