Sales at snack brand Graze have risen 8% year on year as the business extends its presence in the UK and US.
Announcing its financial results for the year ended 28 February 2017, the business reported net revenue of £75.8m and gross profit up 8% year on year. However, EBITDA fell from £7.8m in the previous year to £4.7m following investment in the US operations.
Launched in 2009 in the UK, Graze delivers cardboard boxes of healthy snacks, such as nuts, berries and baked goods, direct to consumers. It has expanded into the US with an operation based in New Jersey, and launched a nationwide service there in 2013.
It launched into UK retail in July 2015, and products are now stocked by 11,000 stores, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Asda, Boots and WH Smith. The brand has increased its presence in stores by extending its range from single-serve packs carried at the front of stores to on-the-go formats carried in ‘take-home’ aisles including premium nuts and cereal bars.
In the US, Graze products are stocked in around 20,000 stores and have enjoyed a “strong initial performance” at retailers including Walgreens, 7 Eleven and Wholefoods. Graze said the US operation has seen considerable growth since the year end.
“Over the last two years we have successfully extended the Graze business from online-only to truly multichannel in both the UK and the US,” said CEO Anthony Fletcher (pictured above)
“We are seeing the clear benefits of operating a multichannel model – the insight provided by the direct-to-consumer channel is fundamental in enabling us to innovate at speed. This gives us a significant advantage in the healthy snacking market, where the pace of change is rapid. It has also proven our ability to localise products for new markets quickly, as has been the case in the US.”
Fletcher added that he was particularly pleased with the brand’s successes in retail.
Graze is majority-owned by US investor The Carlyle Group, with Octopus Investments, Draper Esprit and Management owning the remaining share.
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