Winterbotham Darby in multi-million pound plant-based factory refit

The company said it had captured a growing slice of the plant-based market with its brands Vivera and Squeaky Bean.

This will support the company’s growth in the plant-based market, which was worth £1.8bn last year, and is growing at a rate of 8% (Kantar, 2019).

The new factory comes on stream as the company has completed a new brand review and corporate look. 

The company’s two manufacturing sites, Deli Solutions and Alatoni, will be known as Winterbotham Darby (Clitheroe) and Winterbotham Darby (Bicester), respectively.

Brand review​

The chilled food manufacture specialist aims to strengthen its investment in UK sites and diversify into new categories. It said its new approach had led to the launch of a new corporate brand identity with an updated logo. 

Winterbotham Darby is known for its growth of the olive and antipasti category in the UK. In the continental meats category it received a Compassion in World Farming ‘Special Recognition Award’ in 2019 for its work on raising continental pig welfare standards. 

More recently the business has experienced success in the pickles and ferments category as well as the plant-based sector, it said. 

Refreshed look​ 

“This refreshed look and feel reflects our position at the forefront of innovation in the chilled market and the growth in our chilled plant-based range,” ​chief executive Steven Higginson said.

“As the retail landscape continues to evolve, we believe our branding decisions will help us future-proof our business as we continue to grow, develop and expand. They demonstrate our position as a fully integrated business, managing the entire end-to-end supply chain.​

“The name change reinforces that all of our employees stand together as part of the Winterbotham Darby family. This helps to create a better sense of togetherness across our sites and head office – essential in these challenging times.” ​ 

Winterbotham Darby was founded in 1962 and has supplied chilled food produced in Europe to major retailers and foodservices in the UK.