Quorn sees January sales surge
The meat-free firm reported an 8% growth in total global sales over January (£14.6M) as many food manufacturers saw flat sales.
The North Yorkshire-based company said it had experienced surging sales in all of the 15 countries it directly supplies.
In the UK, sales rose by 6% (£10.9M), while Quorn’s rapid growth continued in the US, where it recorded a 64% increase in sales last month.
Record sales
The strong start to the year comes on the back of a successful 2014, with the company achieving record sales of £150M and attracting an additional 1.86M new customers. Non-vegetarians now accounted for three quarters of its customer base, it claimed.
“With January comes the calls for fad diets and with them the long list of things that you’re no longer supposed to eat,” said Kevin Brennan, ceo of Quorn Foods. “But there’s clear evidence that people are increasingly seeing through such diets and instead exploring more sustainable food solutions which they have a better chance of being able to stick to.
“Quorn’s growth is directly linked to trends around health and sustainability. We’ve seen sales grow by 20% over the last two years and we expect to sustain this momentum as people continue to rethink their meat eating habits and explore healthy and sustainable protein alternatives such as Quorn.
‘Generating momentum’
“Following successful launches in Germany, Finland and Denmark last year, we're also looking to expand into at least one new market in 2015 as we strive to create a $1bn business, four to five times its current size. After last year, we really are generating momentum towards this goal.”
Quorn is currently investing £30M to double its production capacity at its production site in Billingham, near Middlesbrough, creating up to 400 new jobs.
The company is also continuing to invest millions of pounds in new product development, ensuring its range continues to grow to meet the needs and tastes of a global audience.
