Geest claims to have gained market share as a result of retailer and manufacturer consolidation and is bucking the trend of most UK food producers. Chief executive Ian Menzies-Gow said the prepared food sector is growing so fast that Geest opened four manufacturing sites in the UK in 1999 and bought a French salad producer to keep up with demand. It spent £41m to expand production facilities, and launched 600 new products, including a range of sushi for Sainsbury and salad and potatoes for Marks and Spencer. Convinced of the "substantial untapped consumer demand" for fresh prepared foods, Menzies-Gow is planning to fork out another £50m on organic expansion this year to cope. But he did not rule out the acquisition route, and said Geest's latest purchase of Cinquième Saison provided an ideal springboard for international expansion. "In the past five years our sales of fresh prepared foods have more than doubled ­ and the operating profit generated has risen by considerably more," said Menzies-Gow. Ready meal sales grew 26%, beating sector growth by 16%, largely due to three new manufacturing plants. Pizza sales grew at double the pace of the market, taking Geest's share to a third. Worldwide Fruit ­ which merged with Enzafruit in January ­ saw a dip in sales. But the strong performance of the fresh prepared foods arm helped raise total group sales 11% to £526m. Operating profit grew 23% to £32.6m. {{NEWS }}