Fourayes in bid to double turnover
The company spent around £400,000 on the new jam vacuum production line and a further £300,000 on the fruit purée line, md Phil Acock told FoodManufacture.co.uk.
“We are working hard to develop into new sectors where we see strong opportunities for growth in the next five years. We have ambitious targets to double our turnover from £11m in the year to March 2010 to £20m in five years time,” he said.
Family company Fourayes, which employs over 90 people, has funded the investments in equipment out of its own working capital, Acock said.
Aseptic purée line
He added that the investment would allow the company to offer jams to the food processing sector, as well as aseptic fruit purées with provenance, for example Kentish strawberry purée.
“This is the first aseptic fruit purée line in the UK, it is all imported at the moment. It will be a good sector to be in with exchange rates what they are at the moment.”
Acock said Fourayes would also target beverage companies such as smoothie makers with the purées, as it continued to diversify its business.
The firm also planned to target the cereal sector by developing a range of dried fruit infusions, such as dried apple infused with natural strawberry flavour, he added.
Credit worthiness
The main trading issue in the current economic climate was the “nightmare” surrounding the credit worthiness of customers, he said.
“It takes the pleasure out of business if customers are constantly trying to cut prices down and negotiate longer and longer repayment terms.”
