Yorkshire Baker has invested £12m in a new factory.
Rising demand, and securing a new contract with Marks & Spencer, had prompted the company to build the 6,000 sq m plant in Malton, North Yorkshire, which will produce sausage rolls, pasties, quiche and pies.
The factory has created 150 new jobs and was officially opened today by Cathy Chapman, M&S director of food product development.
Yorkshire Baker, now part of Cranswick Foods, has supplied retailers including delicatessens and farm shops in North Yorkshire since 2008. The new site would allow the business to scale up production and increase distribution capacity across the UK, said founder Gill Ridgard.
“We are absolutely retaining the artisan nature of making by hand – this place is a glorified kitchen,” she added. “We have invested in machinery but the machines won’t dictate to us - they are simply taking on some of the menial tasks. This is not mass-manufactured product.”
Cranswick sales and marketing director Jim Brisby said support from Marks & Spencer had been “absolutely tremendous”.
“We are delighted to be building on Cranswick’s ethos of working with artisan producers to take market-leading products to a much wider consumer audience in modern and efficient facilities,” he added.
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