Ingredients manufacturer Meadow acquires sauce producer Naked Foods

Naked Foods is a manufacturer within the food & drink industry, producing fruit and confectionery sauces for UK and Irish food companies from its factory in Kent.

The company, established in 2003, has grown organically to provide 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.

Meadow said the acquisition allows the company 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 said it is also able to enhance its customer offering, while leveraging the company’s existing manufacturing, sales and new product development capabilities.

Raj Tugnait, chief executive of Meadow, who joined the company in 2022, said: “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.

"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.”

Mr Tugnait added: “Meadow has a three-pronged growth plan – organic; growing with our existing customers and in existing categories, inorganic; building new capabilities in house; and finally acquiring quality businesses that will compliment Meadow and make it a better proposition for its customers.

"Naked Foods fits perfectly with that plan.”

Meadow said it will support the Naked Foods team to accelerate their own ambitious growth plan.

This acquisition follows the purchase of Nimbus Foods, also in the confectionery space, and is a further step towards Meadow delivering on its business growth strategy, the firm said.

Meadow partners with the world’s biggest food manufacturers to solve their most complex challenges.

Experts in the dairy, confectionery and plant-based industries, Meadow is the essential ingredient in many food brands.

The company, which was founded in 1992, now employs over 500 people across five sites in Holme-on-Spalding Moor, Chester, Peterborough, Dolgellau and Headcorn.

Holme-on-Spalding-Moor in East Yorkshire, which is believed to be the only factory in the UK to independently manufacture sweetened condensed milk and chocolate crumb products, is part of Meadow Confectionery division.

The 13-acre site near York, which joined the company in 2002, also produces soft cheeses.