Quorn has registered further significant losses as demand for fake meats in supermarkets has continued to decline.
Pre-tax losses at Marlow Foods, the group behind the Quorn and Cauldron brands, totalled £27.8m in 2024, according to newly filed accounts.
It represented a significant improvement on the £63m deficit in 2023 as the burden of exceptional charges for redundancies, legal costs and asset writedowns lowered from £47m to £12m. Total losses at the group over the past three years hit £107m as the meat-free producer has endured severe market turbulence.
Revenues sank another 8.9% to £186.7m last year, which the group blamed on ongoing declines for meat alternatives in retail as supermarket sales at Marlow fell 11.2% to £151.5m. Growth in the foodservice divisions and the business supplying quick service restaurants such as KFC and Greggs helped offset some of the retail declines.
The period covered by the latest accounts reflected a challenging period before Marlow appointed David Flochel as its new CEO in November 2024 to turn around the group’s fortunes.
Flochel has since kicked off a transformation programme focused on improving the supply chain and boosting efficiencies in a bid to return to profitability.
CFO Nick Cooper told The Grocer the 2024 numbers highlighted the “well-documented pressures” in the UK meat-free category, but he added the momentum had “started to shift” in 2025.
“2024 was a challenging year, but our focus is firmly on the future,” Cooper said. “We’re encouraged by the early signs of progress in executing our ‘Transform to Win Together’ plan and we are excited to be the brand to bring fresh innovation and energy back into the category.
“With the backing of our owners [Philippines-based Monde Nissin], we’re confident in the path ahead.”
In 2025, sales declines have slowed (–6% in Q1, –5% in Q2), Quorn gained 1.6ppts of market share to strengthen its market-leading position and gross margins continued to recover.
Underlying losses also narrowed, with core EBITDA turning positive in H1, supported by further efficiency gains and an additional £18m capital injected by Monde Nissin (as revealed by The Grocer in July).
However, further one-off exceptional costs are expected to be incurred as part of the ongoing turnaround.
Quorn has 2025 invested in a number of marketing campaigns in 2025, including a TV advert for its snacking products over the summer, which drove double-digit growth for the range.
New-look Quorn mince and pieces, reformulated to be free from artificial ingredients, also hit shelves this month and the brand’s biggest frozen campaign in more than four years is due to kick off in October.
“We’re embarking on a 10-week mission, which includes TV, VOD, social, influencers, podcasts and PR set to reach millions of consumers,” Cooper added. “We’ll also be dishing up our biggest ever shopper marketing campaign in over 1,500 supermarkets in the UK, reaching shoppers at up to eight different touchpoints on their path to purchase.”
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