Burts Potato Chips has acquired Leicester-based Savoury & Sweet. The acquisition is the first made by Burts since being founded in 1997 and is expected to diversify its product portfolio to include a wider range of healthy snacking products as well as popcorn.
Savoury & Sweet is one of the fastest growing players within the popcorn and healthy snacking sector, exclusively making products for UK household-name brands and own-label ranges for leading retailers.
“The Burts business has grown significantly over the last five years, from £11.4 million in 2013 to an anticipated £37 million (post-acquisition) for 2017.” said Burts’ MD David Nairn (pictured right). “Whilst impressive, our ambition is to drive the business to over £100 million in the next five years to become the UK’s biggest player within premium snacking. While organic growth of our existing operation in Plymouth is a big part of this and anticipated to reach £70 million, acquisitions of like-minded and complementary businesses will help us accelerate our expansion.”
As part of the acquisition, Burts has purchased the company’s 71,000sqft production facility in Leicester, as well as the offices and warehousing facilities on the site. All 99 employees will be retained and the business will be rebranded as Burts Snacks.
Burts’ aim is to expand its ‘Better for You’ business next year to £30m, creating additional jobs and tripling production capacity through investment in additional lines all within the current footprint of the existing Leicester plant. Plymouth will remain the home of Burts’ potato chip, while the company will be utilising Savoury & Sweet’s frying, baking and popping expertise to expand its ‘Better for You’ business.
Nairn concludes: “This is an exciting time for Burts. NPD is high on our agenda and we are looking forward to bringing new and exciting innovation that will challenge the current UK snack market.”
