Biltong maker gains listings after £1m investment
New World Foods (Europe), which produces biltong and jerky dried meat snacks under the Kings Elite Snacks brand, has won an exclusive two-year contract to supply own-label lines to Lidl in the UK, Ireland and Europe.
In addition, it has launched three new lines in Tesco, seven in Asda, and six in Sainsbury’s. New ranges include Wagyu Beef Biltong and Jerky, an ambient vegan range and a refrigerated flexitarian offering that includes vegan, vegetarian and free-range chicken snacks.
The company also supplies own-label lines to Asda, Aldi and the Co-op.
Rugby World Cup winner
Kings Elite Snacks was founded in 2014 by England rugby union players Charlie, Mark and James Simpson-Daniel, together with Rugby World Cup winner Mike Tindall.
It was acquired by the global snacks group New World Foods in 2015 before being relaunched the same year.
According to New World Foods, the brand uses only British and Irish beef, and empathises its connection to sport, health messages and superior quality. These factors attributed to the doubling of its annual profits since the acquisition, it added.
New World Foods employs more than 50 full-time staff at its premises on the outskirts of York. Employee numbers were expected to increase by a further 10 to 20 in the next six months, the company said.
Charlie Simpson-Daniel, managing director of New World Foods said he had been on an “incredible journey” with the brand, adding that he was delighted with the progress made in major retail.
‘Consumers entering meat snacking’
“The most rewarding aspect of this is the number of new consumers entering meat snacking for the first time through Kings,” he said.
“We are very ambitious and we are here to turn this category into a £100m space with our new consumers and our new ranges being pivotal to achieving this goal.”
Kings Wagyu was the best tasting product the business had ever produced, Simpson-Daniel claimed.
“Our ambient vegan protein range is about to land in five major retailers, and we are due to take our first steps into chilled snacking with our flexitarian range landing in Sainsbury’s at the end of the month,” he added.
“We see ambient snacking as being very fast-paced and our closest competitor publishing a loss in their latest set of accounts demonstrates this perfectly.”
