Revenue at McVitie’s and Jacobs owner Pladis UK topped £1bn in 2024 as marketing and NPD boosted brand performance.
The biscuits and snacks business reported turnover of £1,006.2m for the year ended 31 December 2024 in its latest filing at Companies House. This was up by £21.8m from £984.4m the year before.
Profit fell over the period, however, with EBITDA dipping by £1m to £150.6m and operating profit before interest and tax falling from £99.8m to £81.9m.
The business said brand investment in 2024 had delivered a ‘step-change’ in McVitie’s sales.
Activity included the six-week ‘The Great Biscuit Break Bonanza’ campaign that ran across McVitie’s 26 bestselling products, and offered consumers and independent retailers the chance to win prizes.
Pladis highlighted McVitie’s Digestives Gold as one of the standout pieces of NPD. Launched in summer 2024, these combine McVitie’s Gold Bars and McVitie’s Digestives to create digestives with golden caramel chocolate.
Another successful launch for the business in 2024 was the McVitie’s Signature biscuit range, described as the brand’s most indulgent products to date. It made its debut in the summer with a trio of SKUs: Caramel Chocolate Rounds, Chocolate Caramel Biscuits, and Chocolate Cream Swirls.
“Surpassing the £1bn sales milestone is testament to the strength of our portfolio of iconic brands and our approach to product innovation,” said Pladis UK & Ireland managing director Mete Buyurgan, who was appointed in March of this year.
“Our performance was underpinned by successful marketing campaigns and sales from new, innovative products such as Jacobs Bites, McVitie’s Signature range, Gold Digestives and Jaffa Cakes Cola Bottle Flavour.”
2025 is already shaping up to be a big year for Pladis, with the business announcing a £68m investment in upgrades at its UK sites to introduce more automated lines and update factory infrastructure. Pladis said this will help to increase capacity, capability, and productivity.
“This year we are focused on building on our momentum, celebrating 100 years of the McVitie’s Chocolate Digestive and navigating challenges of cost inflation, while executing the £68m investment across our UK operations to renovate our manufacturing sites and unlock capacity for our growth story,” said Buyurgan.
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