Proper Snacks’ sales returned to growth last year as it worked to regain momentum in its ambition to build a healthy snacking powerhouse under private equity ownership.
The business, which makes crisps and popcorn, was taken over by private equity firm Exponent in 2021 and immediately merged with the Eat Real brand in a bid to help fuel expansion.
Since then, turnover has grown from £46.4m in its first year of trading, to £70.7m in 2024, according to its latest accounts filed at Companies House for the year ending 29 December.
Although progress stalled slightly in 2023 due to a dip in Eat Real’s sales, Proper Snacks returned to growth in 2024 with turnover up 8.3%.
This outpaced the 4% increase seen across the wider market, and was driven by new listings and the launch of new products.
“We are seeing strong momentum continue into 2025 with both the Proper and Eat Real brands delivering market-beating sales,” a spokesperson said.
The company’s losses for the year narrowed to £34.9m from £45.1m the previous year, boosted by investments into a new Nuneaton factory to increase efficiency, Proper Snacks said.
Founded in 2011 by Cassandra Stavrou and Ryan Kohn, the Proper brand was initially known as Propercorn but rebranded in 2019 to reflect its wider ambition in the snacks category.
Eat Real launched in 2014 selling a range of lentil, quinoa and houmous chips. Part of the Indian snacks group Cofresh, it was acquired by Exponent in 2020 and incorporated into its Vibrant Foods platform.
The merged business was initially known as Warp Snacks before rebranding as Proper Snacks earlier this year. The move reflected its ambition to “lead the European snacking industry into a new era of innovation, taste, health and purpose”.
To achieve this, the business plans to accelerate its investment in innovation, growth, and marketing throughout 2025.
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