Thai food manufacturer CP Foods UK has invested £4M in a new food factory in Newmarket that has created 100 jobs.
CP Foods is investing £4M in a new Newmarket food factory
Production at the Fordham Road site will be dedicated to the firm's new Taste Inc brand of premium range microwavable sandwiches, subs, baguettes and burgers.
The new factory will contain state-of-the-art equipment. The new roles – all of which have now been filled – included: production management, technical management, shop floor technical support, warehouse logistics, procurement, manufacturing operatives and engineers.
More jobs may follow as the firm develops its food ranges.
Listings in Morrisons and One Stop
CP Foods UK – part of the CPF Group based in Bangkok – launched Taste Inc earlier this year. The brand has listings in Morrisons, One Stop and garage forecourts and convenience stores across the UK.
The firm has also launched a dedicated marketing campaign to support the brand.
Adrian Wilson, head of UK manufacturing at CP Foods and business unit director for Taste Inc, said the investment was a key step for the firm. "It is a very exciting time for us; we're going through our biggest change since 2005," said Wilson.
Micro-snacking market
"Twelve months ago we recognised that there was a gap in the micro-snacking market for something which really did taste incredible – and so Taste Inc was born.
"We're delighted to have been able to make such a significant investment in our Newmarket site. And just five months on the brand is going from strength to strength; once people try the range it speaks for itself."
Taste Inc was a convenient product that ticked the boxes of being both tasty and satisfying, he said. The range contained fewer than 500 calories.
CP Foods brand manager Ruth Entwistle told the Newmarket Journal: "This is where the arm of CP UK is, in Newmarket, so we hope we can continue to develop and grow in this area and add to the services we offer."
Meanwhile, the UK business's Thai parent company – Charoen Pokphand Foods – reported a 59% fall in quarterly net earnings earlier this month.
The firm's flagship brand CP Foods reported net profit of 1.64bn baht ($52.46M) for three months between April – June 2013. That compares with 4.03bn baht in the same period last year.
The core operations of Thailand's largest meat and animal food producer were hit by shrimp disease and lower income from overseas businesses.
