Savoury pastries and food-to-go giant Samworth Brothers invested a record amount in its business in 2023.
And, despite inflationary challenges, in its new annual review the company said its financial performance had been ahead of expectations. Sales grew almost £180m year-on-year to £1,589.9m, with capital investment of £74.6m.
Operating profit before non-recurring costs rose to £42.5m, but costs associated with closing a production site – believed to be plant-based operation Revolution Kitchen – reduced the final figure to £20m.
Writing in the annual review, chairman Mark Samworth, great-grandson of founder George Samworth, said that he was determined to “build a food business that does the right things”.
“My great-grandfather George set out on his own… because he was keen to do things better, and it is my hope that we retain this ambition on behalf of my family and the families that buy our food,” he stated.
Here we look at five things we learned from the review of the business, which operates brands including Soreen, Dickinson & Morris, West Cornwall Pasty Co, Higgidy, and Ginsters, and manufacturers including Bradgate Bakery, Melton Foods, and The Cornwall Bakery.
Developing expertise
In 2023, Samworth Brothers recruited additional savoury pastry chefs and commissioned research into consumer trends that led to the creation of new products.
“We have eight development chefs, a master pie maker, and a master baker across four (savoury pastry) development kitchens,” explained innovation director Alex Whittle.
The Cornwall Bakery, meanwhile, introduced a monthly Chef’s Table to review new products against industry trends.
Samworth Brothers enrolled 91 apprentices across the business last year, bringing the total number of apprenticeships under way to 137. It is hoping to grow this to more than 155 per year by 2026.
Marketing successes
A single Ginsters’ ‘Taste the effort’ campaign period resulted in 555,000 new households eating a Ginsters product, and reached 93.3% of all UK adults according to Samworth Brothers. Ginsters doubled its social media reach year-on-year, with 80% of the audience reporting that they felt positive about the brand.
Soreen partnered with comedian Troy Hawke to support the launch of the new Soreen Lift Bar, with content created by Hawke and other TikTokers viewed 12 million times. Further promotional campaigns run across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram were viewed more than 10 million times.
@troy_hawke ‘Never stop roguing!’ Giving the people of Manchester a lift with @SoreenHQ Lift Bars #soreen #troyhawke #soreenliftbar #greetersguild #spinningfields #ad #manchester #b12 #TasteTheLift ♬ original sound - Troy Hawke
Healthy product development
The company introduced the Samworth Brothers Health and Nutrition Plan in 2023 to help development of healthy food options.
Action taken by Samworth brands include Higgidy increasing fibre content by nearly 10% and removing 560 million calories from its quiches and pies.
Meanwhile, Soreen launched its new vegan soft-bake Soreen Lift Bars, that have less than 140 calories and contain naturally-occurring B vitamins, fibre, potassium and folate.
Celebrating anniversaries
2023 was a big year for anniversaries at Samworth Brothers, which was founded in 1896 and remains a fourth-generation family business. Anniversaries celebrated last year included:
- Bradgate Bakery – 30 years
- Melton Foods and Samworth Brothers Supply Chain – 25 years
- Higgidy and Saladworks – 20 years
- Soreen – 85 years
Investing for the future
Samworth Brothers made a record £74.3m spend on capital investment last year, taking the five-year total to £172.2m. Activity included upgrading facilities at the Cornwall Bakery site at Callington.
A major project has been planned for Bradgate Bakery’s Ashton Green site in Leicester, adding around an acre of additional space to make a wider range of food-to-go products.
Samworth has also increased the capacity and capabilities of its ready meals business at Kettleby Foods in Melton Mowbray and at Saladworks in Leicester. Walkers Deli & Sausage in Leicester has been expanded to enable the business to increase its cooked protein and snacking range.
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