Symington’s unveils world flavours-inspired Twistd range

Designed to appeal to consumers looking to experiment with new tastes, the Twistd range includes flavoured cous cous, super grains, grains and pulses, flavoured risotto, wet cup soup sachets, snack pots and world-flavoured rice.

The range will be available nationwide in Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s from this month.

With its “bold, intense” ​flavour fusions, Twistd is designed to appeal to hectic young professionals, culinary explorers and health minded shoppers, Symington’s said.

The range tapped into the out of home global larder food trends and brought these flavours directly to people’s plates with a contemporary and vibrant twist, it added.

Matt Lee, chief commercial officer at Symington’s, said: “We know from our shopper insight and from talking to our customers that both are craving more excitement and modernity from this category. Twistd provides exactly that.”​

Mug Shot, Naked, Chicken Tonight and Ragu​

Symington’s produces the likes of Mug Shot, Naked, Chicken Tonight, Ragu and free-from brand ilumi. It also produces own-label products for all the major UK supermarkets, along with independents and foodservice customers.

The Leeds-headquartered company, which employs 700 people, recently reported a 4.7% annual revenue increase, from £115m to £120.3m.

In its financial accounts for the year ended 26 August 2018, pre-tax profit increased to £4.4m from £2.7m. Earnings before interest, taxes, and amortisation (EBITA) was £10.2m for the year, a 12.8% increase year-on-year.​

The figures show continued improvement for Symington’s, after sales slumped in 2015 and 2016.  

Symington’s chief executive John Power said significant brand investment in Mug Shot and Naked along with strong innovation had helped boost sales.

 “We’ve continued with the strong growth delivered in the second half of 2017, with investment in NPD and marketing helping to drive our strong sales growth this year,”​ Power said.

‘First ever TV ad campaign’​

“Mug Shot hit TV screens in its first ever TV ad campaign and Naked, one of the most innovative brands in the category, grew in value by 36% ​[Kantar year-on-year to 9 September 2018].”

Three new products have been added to the Mug Shot range. Protein Pots, Vegetable Pots, and On The Go Rice Pots each have different variations and come in at under 300 calories.

Power said: “We have continued to lead both the innovation and health agendas in the categories we operate in. In the last financial year, we removed 36t of salt from Naked and Mug Shot products, introduced traffic light Guideline Daily Amounts for transparency and improved nutritionals on a range of products.”​

Symington’s operates four sites, three in West Yorkshire and a wet meals and soups facility in Consett, County Durham. 

To find out how the company’s Dartmouth Way site has evolved to meet the demands of its customers – part of our Me and My Team series of profiles – order your copy​​ of the July issue of Food Manufacture​.