Premier Foods increase dominance of UK's meat-free market
substitutes market in Britain by acquiring Cauldron Foods.
The supplier of products such as Branston Pickle and Sarson's Vinegar paid £27 million (€37.8m) for the Bristol-based manufacturer in a bid to strengthen its position as the leading producer of meat substitutes in the UK.
Market analyst at Datamonitor, John Band told FoodandDrinkEurope.com "This is a straight forward acquisition to strengthen the commanding position of the business in the meat-free product market."
"Following the acquisition of the Quorn brand earlier this year, Premier became the leading producer of meat substitutes."
The demand for meat substitutes has increased in recent years because people are becoming more concerned about eating healthily.
The vegetarian chilled convenience food industry had estimated sales of £450m last year and sales are currently growing by five per cent each year.
The growing number of contaminated meat reports may have also contributed to the rise in demand for non-meat products.
"People are looking to reduce their amount of meat intake without compromising on tastes; they don't want to give up their sausages." said Brand.
The company, which has an annual group turnover of £800m, can now expand its portfolio to tofu, vegetarian sausages and burgers, pates and ethnic snacks such as falafel, which Cauldron currently supplies to the UK's major supermarkets.
A spokesperson for Premier said that Cauldron is "a growing, well run business in a good market position which fits nicely alongside our current brands."
The company bought Cauldron, who were one of the first manufacturers in the UK to produce tofu, from Rayner and Co.
In June this year Premier bought Marlow Foods, the owners of the Quorn brand, for £172m.
