New £20m production line unveiled at Mr. Kipling bakery

Premier Foods has unveiled a new £20m production line at its Mr. Kipling bakery in Carlton, Barnsley, UK more than doubling capacity of its fast-selling Snack Pack cake slices.

The new line was formally opened by the Rt. Hon. Elizabeth Truss MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, marking the introduction of innovative robotic technology at the site and the creation of 80 new jobs.

The investment builds on the recent success of Mr. Kipling following its re-launch last year which included new packaging, advertising and promotions. The Snack Pack format of individually packed slices is now the fastest selling Mr. Kipling. At full capacity the new production line can produce more than 300 million Snack Pack slices a year helping keep pace with growing demand. The use of advanced robotics increases the number of pack and case sizes possible, enabling greater flexibility to meet different consumer and retailer requirements.

Mr. Kipling is the UK’s leading cake brand

The Carlton Bakery, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, employs 750 people, rising to 1500 in seasonal periods. Around 80 new jobs will be created over two years, including a number of higher skilled roles. The investment will also bring wider economic benefits given Premier Foods’ aim of sourcing 70 % of its ingredients for the new slices, including wheatflour, sugar and glucose syrup, from UK suppliers and farmers.

Gavin Darby, Chief Executive Officer, said, “I’m very excited about the future for Mr.Kipling. Our cake business has grown significantly over the last 9 months and the additional capacity and flexibility from this new investment will help us improve productivity and capture new growth opportunities.”

Mr. Kipling is the UK’s leading cake brand with a 17% share of the £1 billion packaged cake market. In the six months to March this year the packaged cake category grew 2.6% in value terms while the Mr. Kipling brand grew by 11%. Market share is up 1.3 percentage points and household penetration increased by 2.2 percentage points.