Ingredients firm Meadow acquires sauce maker Naked Foods

Meadow, one of the UK’s leading value-added ingredients businesses, has announced the acquisition of Naked Foods Limited, a manufacturer of fruit and confectionery sauces.

Meadow, which is backed by private equity firm Exponent, said the move is a further step towards strengthening its position as a trusted partner of bespoke critical food ingredients to some of the UK’s most famous brands.

Naked Foods produces a wide range of fruit and confectionery sauces for UK and Irish food companies from its BRC A grade factory in Kent. The company, established in 2003, has grown organically to now providing over 300 recipes and several thousand tonnes of sauces each year. The products include fruit preps for yogurts, dairy drinks, ice cream and plant-based products, as well as sweet and confectionery fillings for bakery and dessert products.

The acquisition will allow Meadow to expand its portfolio into new product areas while enabling customers to benefit from the many synergies between the businesses, including product knowledge and manufacturing expertise.

Meadow will also be able to enhance its customer offering, while leveraging the company’s existing manufacturing, sales and NPD capabilities.

“For some time our customers have been urging us to enter the sweet sauce category. It is an adjacent category and a natural extension to what we already do,” Raj Tugnait, chief executive of Meadow, commented.

“There is a gap in the market for an agile player who can develop, scale-up and manufacture fruit preparations and Naked Foods has an enviable reputation for its quality and nimbleness. The team and culture felt right to be part of the Meadow family.

“Adding sweet sauces allows us to further diversify our portfolio and strengthen our position as a leading supplier of quality food ingredients.”

This acquisition is the latest from Meadow, following the purchase of Nimbus Foods, also in the confectionery space.

Experts in the dairy, confectionery and plant-based industries, Meadow employs over 500 people across five BRC AA and A accredited sites in Chester, Peterborough, Holme-on-Spalding Moor, Dolgellau and Headcorn.