Tulip Ltd., is investing £2.3m in its specialist snacking site at Ruskington to meet increased demand for core traditional products, while enhancing its capability to bring new innovations to market.
The Lincolnshire factory, which employs 450 workers, is claimed to be the world’s largest Scotch egg manufacturer and the UK’s leading producer of cocktail sausages. It also produces a range of mini-filled bites and seasonal products.
The investment will allow Ruskington to create a smaller specialist factory on-site, enabling complex niche products developed for retailers by Tulip’s NPD specialists to get to store quickly and efficiently. It will also provide greater capacity and capability to the production of higher volume lines, better equipping the site to meet the demands for further growth in the snacking category, say the company.
Overseeing the investment will be newly appointed site director Ian Bagnall, who joins the company with a wealth of experience in holding leadership roles within food production. Commenting on developments Shaun Kay, operations director at Tulip said: “We’re really pleased to announce this investment at our world-leading Ruskington site. This will future-proof the site and help us lead the way on innovation alongside our retail partners.
“This investment will support the continued growth we have seen in our core product lines thanks to a resurgence in popularity of non-pastry traditional snacks such as Scotch eggs and savoury bites. We are also investing in a dedicated facility and state-of-the-art equipment to support the development of a range of niche products which can be more complex to produce.”
Andrew Cracknell, CEO, Tulip, said: “We have recognised how eating habits have changed including a growth in food to go and high protein snacking. Investment in our Ruskington site shows how we are driving growth in the snacking category, offering products containing a variety of protein, flavours and dips to appeal to younger consumers, whilst also future proofing more traditional snacking options. At the same time, this enhanced capability and capacity will ensure outstanding service delivery and quality levels for our customers.
“This significant investment in our Ruskington facility underlines our on-going commitment to the Lincolnshire region and demonstrates continued inward investment into the UK by our parent company Danish Crown. We’re confident that the site will be well placed to help drive our business forward in the years ahead,” he concluded.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
