Calbee UK completes £5m factory investment

28-Sep-2021 - Last updated on 28-Sep-2021 at 13:06 GMT

Calbee UK has completed a £5m investment into its Bradford and Deeside factories

Seabrook crisps manufacturer Calbee UK has completed a £5m investment into its manufacturing facilities as it posts growth in its full-year results.

The investment has added to Calbee’s manufacturing capabilities at its Bradford and Deeside factories to increase capacities to ensure it can meet a rising demand for its products.

Daniel Woodwards, group managing director at Calbee UK, said: “Our investment programme had three key simple aims – to increase the volumes our factories could produce, increase capabilities so that we can innovate within the snacking category and increase brand investment to create a rise in demand for our products.

‘Significant uplift’

“This has helped us deliver a significant uplift in Seabrook Crisps, with a return to TV advertising for the first time in almost 15 years and it’s enabled us to launch Harvest Snaps, a new plant-based brand that falls below the proposed government HFSS restrictions and can therefore still be merchandised in promotional display space when the new legislation comes into force next year.”

Calbee announced the completion of its investment programme in its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2020, its first consolidated accounts since its acquisition of Seabrook in October 2018 and subsequent merger of the two businesses.

The manufacturer posted sales of £43.7m against earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £5.8m. Like-for-like comparisons to the previous year of the consolidated Calbee and Seabrook businesses show a £2.9m increase in turnover and a £0.8m uplift in EBITDA.

Earnings offset

Calbee said this growth in EBITDA was offset by increased brand investment and rising supply chain costs.

Daniel Woodwards continues: “There’s no doubt the pandemic and Brexit has thrown up many challenges and continues to do so, from coping with fluctuations in demand, changing consumer habits, to supply chain issues but our strategic investments, a sound plan and a great team put us in a stronger position to compete.”

Meanwhile, PepsiCo has completed a £14m upgrade of its Southern Region Distribution Centre (SRDC) based in Leicester.