Premier Foods is set to more than double cooking sauce production at its Worksop factory after announcing a £36 million investment programme that will bring manufacturing of its Loyd Grossman range in-house by early 2028.
The upgrade – the company’s biggest site investment in more than 15 years – will see a high-speed manufacturing line installed, expanded storage facilities, and a new link road to improve on-site logistics. The phased investment will run through to 2029 and is designed to boost capacity, efficiency and long-term supply for retailers.
The Worksop site produces Sharwood’s, Homepride, Batchelors, Bisto, Saxa and Oxo, alongside Loyd Grossman.
The decision to take production of Loyd Grossman sauces back in-house marks a significant shift for the brand, which has been manufactured by a third-party supplier. Premier Foods said the move supports a key pillar of its growth strategy to invest in supply-chain capability and improve productivity.
Alongside the investment, the manufacturer has extended its long-standing brand licensing agreement with Sir Loyd Grossman to 2034, with an option to renew for a further five years. The brand has grown at an average of 4.7 per cent a year over the past five years, supported by innovation including pizza bases, no-added-sugar options and a new premium range launched this year.
Premier Foods CEO Alex Whitehouse said the Worksop upgrade would unlock significant growth potential. “It will enable us to more than double our annual cooking sauces production capacity, supporting growth opportunities and providing enhanced capabilities for innovation across our cooking sauces’ brands, while improving the site for our colleagues,” he said.
Whitehouse added that renewing the partnership with Sir Loyd Grossman underlined the company’s confidence in the brand and in UK manufacturing.
Sir Loyd Grossman said he was “thrilled” to extend the partnership, praising Premier Foods’ “commitment to quality and innovation”.
“We share a passion for creating great-tasting products made with the very best ingredients. This renewed agreement reflects our shared ambition to keep innovating and to bring our sauces to even more customers across the UK,” he said.
The Worksop factory employs around 500 people, and Premier Foods said the investment will strengthen the site’s future and create upgraded amenities for staff. It follows a separate £19m investment in the company’s Lifton Creamery in Devon, home of Ambrosia, to expand porridge pot production.
The group has more than doubled infrastructure spending over the past two years and plans to invest £55m in FY25/26.