Burts doubles Leicester site’s capacity with £6m investment

Snacks maker Burts has invested £6 million into its Leicester factory this year, doubling the site’s capacity to produce more hand-cooked chips and compression popped snacks to keep up with demand.

Acclaimed for its premium products and superior taste, the company said the investment aligns with its organic and strategic growth plan, creating new avenues for progression and opportunities for its employees.

As part of the investment, installations include two new state-of-the-art fryers, one new bagging system and 14 compression poppers to create the brands popular Lentil Chips, along with doubling the potato storage capacity and updating handling operations. These improvements to the factory have created 16 new jobs at the Leicester location for frying and popping operatives.

“It’s an exciting time for the business, and the investment means we’re able to double our capacity at our Leicester site to keep up with the demand of our products,” Dave McNulty, managing director at Burts, said.

“The improvement this will have on our manufacturing capabilities will allow us to continue to grow and innovate at a time where we want to continue building the momentum in the snacking category.”

Alongside the improvements to its Leicester factory, Burts is striving to further develop its sustainability programme by reducing its UK packaging, sourcing electricity from a local Devon solar farm and sourcing all its potatoes within an 85-mile radius of its Plymouth HQ.

“We know that there is still a long way to go in terms of sustainability for the business, but we are confident these changes are a step in the right direction for the business and the planet, without compromising on our great tasting hand-cooked snacks,” McNulty said.

The premium snacks brand was acquired by leading European snack producer Europe Snacks earlier this year. Burts continues to operate from its two manufacturing sites in Leicester and Plymouth, Devon.