Dragonfly Foods invests £4.5M in new factory
The company – which is part of the Japanese food firm Hikari Miso – has signed a 21-year lease on the premises on Hitchcocks Business Park in Willand near Tiverton, in a deal brokered by property consultancy JLL.
Dragonfly md Amanda Robson said she was “delighted” with the new factory, adding that “it is a really unique site, combining idyllic surroundings with a fabulous location for transport links”.
Create nine new jobs
Dragonfly Foods already employs 11 people and there are plans to create nine new jobs at the site by 2020. The company said it hoped the jobs would provide a boost for the local economy.
Dragonfly Foods was formed in 1984 with just two members of staff and has since extended its range beyond tofu to create organic burgers and ‘soysages’, using tofu as a main ingredient.
The business supplies a number of health food wholesalers in the UK, as well as health retailer Holland & Barrett.
The warehouse is part of a 20-acre business park, created in 2013 by owner Richard Persey and Maria Estates.
Persey said it had been a pleasure to work with the Dragonfly team to provide them with the accommodation they required to take their business to the “next level”.
‘Big win for the area’
Tim Western, lead director at JLL in Exeter, added: “The creation of Hitchcocks Business Park in Willand has been, and continues to be, a big win for the area.
“As more and more thriving businesses join the park, it is helping to put this part of Devon on the map as a hub for the manufacturing and distribution sectors. It is also excellent to see a major Japanese company choosing to invest in the UK and, in particular, Devon.”
Last month, Wessanen, the food company that owns Clipper Teas, revealed it had invested £1.25M in new equipment for its tea factory in Beaminster, Dorset, allowing it to manufacture all of its tea brands from a single site.
