Finlays unveils new coffee plant in Hull

Global cold brew coffee pioneer Finlays has unveiled plans to fire up the UK cold brew coffee market with a multi-million-pound facility in Hull.

The coffee extraction plant is set to begin producing quality cold brew coffee for branded and own-label suppliers to the UK and European grocery and hospitality sectors in 2022.

Located next to Finlays Europe’s tea decaffeination facility in Hull, the new plant will allow the company to supply bulk concentrate, RTD cans and bag in box through ambient and refrigerated supply chain networks.

Finlays said packaging formats will be flexible to suit a variety of customer needs while also maintaining its commitment to sustainable sourcing.

“Cold brew coffee is one of the most exciting trends in food and drink,” says Ian Bryson, managing director at Finlays Europe, a leading independent B2B supplier of tea, coffee and botanicals. “After explosive growth in the US, we believe we are about to see the same thing happen in Europe.”

The growth of cold brew coffee market in the UK and Europe is now set to mirror the cold brew boom that has transformed the US coffee market, where annual cold brew sales are now worth a staggering £917m and counting. Finlays is the US cold brew market leader.

The UK market for cold brew coffee is also booming, with annual sales hitting £56m in 2020.

“Our new extraction facility is about helping beverage brand owners across Foodservice, B2B and retail tap into the cold brew opportunity by allowing us to manufacture in a flexible range of formats and being able to develop bespoke solutions,” Bryson added.

The cold brew process produces a smooth, naturally sweet flavour profile that is perceived to be less acidic than coffee brewed with hot water. Coffee beans are steeped in room-temperature water for several hours to produce concentrate that can be used for a variety of food and beverage applications.

The new facility in Hull will produce pure cold brew coffee from beans freshly roasted at its roastery in nearby Pontefract, West Yorkshire.

Cold brew is the fastest growing segment in RTD/Iced Coffee while the average price paid for coffee in supermarkets has risen by 0.8 per cent. This is being driven by soaring demand for more premium formats and take-home sales for RTD iced coffee have surged 37.6 per cent.

“Our plan in Europe is to emulate the successful model we have in the US to deliver the same premium quality, pure cold brew that has taken the North American market by storm,” Bryson concluded.