Record sales for vegetarian food company Quorn
Meat-free producer Quorn Foods said it racked up record sales last month as consumers ditched fad diets in favour of healthy long-term options.
The England-based firm, which employs 650, said sales lifted 8% to £14.6m in January as it sold more of its meat free sausages, mince and chicken style fillets.
It said sales in the UK rose 6% to £10.9m in January, adding that revenues jumped 64% last month in the United States.
The firm directly exports to 15 countries including Australia, Switzerland and South Africa and plans to expand in to at least one new international market this year.
Last month the business reported record full-year sales up 7% to £150m as it attracted 1.9 million new customers over the period.
The firm today cited a recent YouGov poll which reported that 74% of people said that fad diets are not the solution to health and wellbeing.
It added that 37% of those surveyed found that cutting out meat made them healthier.
Quorn Foods chief executive Kevin Brennan said: “With January comes the calls for fad diets and with them the long list of things that you’re no longer supposed to eat.
“But there’s clear evidence that people are increasingly seeing through such diets and instead exploring more sustainable food solutions which they have a better chance of being able to stick to.”
Quorn is currently investing £30m to double its production capacity at its production site in Billingham, near Middlesbrough, creating up to 400 new jobs.
Mr Brennan added: “Following successful launches in Germany, Finland and Denmark last year, we’re also looking to expand in to at least one new market in 2015 as we strive to create a €1bn, four to five times its current size. After last year, we really are generating momentum towards this goal.”
