A new gluten-free facility has created employment opportunities for workers in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
The facility, opened by Newly Wed Foods, is set to produce gluten-free breadcrumbs as well as other products.
New facility open
Newly Wed Foods is a global supplier of ingredients, including the gluten-free breadcrumbs that they will now be preparing from tin-baked loaves in the new facility. It is an expansion on their current site, which manufactures other of their product ranges. The 2,700m2 factory also includes a blending line which will manufacture gluten-free coating systems.
Newly Weds previously employed a workforce consisting of 210 jobs. With the opening of the new extension, they were able to introduce a total of six new jobs to their staff.
They are no stranger to expansions, having developed sites around the world in various different countries. Their three sites in the UK are joined by 17 in the US. They also have factories in China, Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, and the Philippines. It’s no wonder that this model of being so spread out works for them: they have customers in 80 countries. This means that they can manufacture and ship from the most convenient location for their customers where possible.
John Butcher is the plant manager of Newly Weds Foods Banbury. He said, “This dedicated factory is designed to produce gluten-free products unlike any others currently in the market. We are baking individual tinned loaves of gluten-free bread.
Strong breadcrumb heritage
Anyone who knows about breadcrumbs will not be surprised to learn that Newly Weds Foods are one again at the forefront of innovation in this field. Rob Macdonald is the Newly Weds Foods Banbury commercial director, and he was able to sum it up nicely. He said, “Newly Weds strives to be on the leading edge of developments and innovations in breadcrumb manufacture. Our Corby location is Europe’s only production site for Japanese-style breadcrumb and the Banbury plant is the only source of breadcrumb made from real loaves of bread.
It’s clear that the company take their approach to defining their product range very seriously. Not only do they create standard, high-quality breadcrumbs, but they are also determined to move into particular niches which only they occupy. While competitors may be attempting to chase them, they are leading the charge into new areas.
This is true of a lot of food companies who are keeping up with the current. A lot of changes are afoot in the way that we consume – both when it comes to general retail, and to food. Ethics are beginning to play a stronger part, and both diet and lifestyle choices are also having an impact.
The advent of a broader spectrum of dietary choices to the average supermarket aisle is certainly introducing new opportunities for the food recruitment market. Gluten-free food is currently experiencing a heyday, with a spate of fad diets now creating new opportunities for those who have to live gluten-free for medical reasons. The same can be said of vegan and vegetarian food, particularly in lactose-free varieties. Alternative milks have been a very strong market, and alternative cheeses are now following in their footsteps to claim more space in the supermarket aisles. As time moves on, we can only expect these trends to grow stronger, indicative of a cultural shift in perceptions.
