Milestone year for food and snacks producer
ORIGINALLY FAMOUS FOR ITS INDIAN READY MEALS, THE GROUP NOW INCLUDES A WIDE RANGE OF WORLD RECIPES
INVESTMENT in new production facilities, products and people helped Manchester-based world foods producer, The Authentic Food Group, deliver record sales in its latest financial year.
The group, which was originally founded by Kamal Basran in 1985, reported sales of £73.6m – an increase of 50 per cent – in what it said had been a “milestone year of accelerated growth and unprecedented investment for the future”.
The company, whose recipes are sold across major supermarkets and thousands of restaurants across the UK and Europe, said it had invested significant additional capital developing its new 180,000 sq ft site in Dundalk to expand its production and packaging capabilities.
It acquired the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in 2015 from Kraft Heinz alongside a co-pack arrangement to develop the US food giant’s range of ready meals in the UK and Europe.
This, it said, had led to a number of major new contract wins which would continue to drive growth in 2017 and beyond. The group said it made a loss before tax of £800,000 in the year ending May 2016 as a result of its planned investment programme, adding that it had returned to profitability in the final quarter of the year. It also said profits had improved over the nine months of the current financial year, although trading conditions in the UK grocery sector remained challenging.
Originally famous for its Indian ready meals, The Authentic Food Group has expanded its products to include a wide range of world food recipes, snacks and accompaniments as well as health-conscious cuisine.
It has also collaborated with two Michelin starred chef and restaurateur, Paul Heathcote, to develop a new range of classic British and Italian dishes, and the Yu family, owners of the award-winning restaurants Yu & You and Yu Alderley, to create a brand new range of Chinese recipes.
Nik Basran, CEO of The Authentic Food Group, said: “Over the last two years, we’ve built an infrastructure capable of supporting a £150m plus turnover business, creating significant headroom for further growth.
“The scope and scale of our production capabilities are now unrivalled, whilst our expertise in taste and recipe development is marketleading.”