UK diary group Meadow Foods has invested £4 million which is just over $5 million USD to open up a new facility that will be manufacturing plant-based products. The facility located in Chester, UK will manufacture plant-based dairy alternatives including milk, cream, yoghurt, soft cheese, custard, and sour cream. Construction of the new facility began this January and manufacturing of the products is expected to begin before 2020 runs out.
CEO of Meadow Foods Mark Chantler said their company wants to meet their consumer’s demand for plant-based products, but animal-based diary will still remain its focus. The new facility will produce plant-based ingredients based on a blend of oats and rice.
“We’re excited to be developing our capabilities and capacity to manufacture a range of plant-based products that extend the strength and depth of our product portfolio,” said Mark Chantler, CEO of Meadow Foods.
He added: “Dairy remains core to our business and we will continue to explore strategic investments, partnerships and acquisitions that extend the range of quality products we are able to offer our customers, allowing us to offer complementary products alongside our dairy range.”
Meadow Foods is a subsidiary of Meadow Foods Holdings Ltd, which employs over 310 employees and generates $587.92 million in sales. According to Farming Weekly, Meadow Foods is “one of the UK’s largest independent dairies with around 650 farmer suppliers, also increased its turnover from £427m to £456m,”. This is is partly because of the acquisition of Roil Foods, which is an edible diary-based oils business. They also announced this year that they have acquired Nimbus Foods which already offers some plant-based products.
