Quorn has benefited from a fresh injection of almost £20m in capital by its Filipino parent company as an ambitious turnaround plan at the meat-free market leader begins to pay off.
Filings at Companies House revealed Marlow Foods, which includes the Quorn and Cauldron brands owned by Monde Nissin, issued £18m in new shares at the end of May. The company confirmed it used the money to further pay down its debt burden.
Marlow is currently undergoing a turnaround attempt led by new boss David Flochel, who took over as CEO in November from Marco Bertacca following a difficult period for the business and the wider meat alternatives category.
Losses at the group soared to more than £60m in 2023 as supermarket sales declined, with category data for 2024 showing Quorn values fell a further 9.8% [NIQ 52 w/e 7 September 2024].
Flochel told The Grocer this week that earlier this year the company launched ‘Transform to Win Together’, a multi-year turnaround plan designed to transform the supply chain and boost efficiency and profitability.
It would allow Marlow to reinvest in the brands and “lead the category with confidence”, Flochel said.
“The challenges in the category have been well documented but we’re starting to make progress,” he added. “When I first took the role at Quorn, I talked about 2025 being our reset year. I believe, with the right focus and strong execution, we can turn both the company and the category around. That won’t happen overnight, but the hard work is starting to pay off and I am delighted to be leading the transformation.”
Flochel said the strategy was already delivering results, with the sales decline slowing in the first quarter of 2025 from 9% across 2024 to 6%, while gross margins expanded and core losses shrank significantly.
“As a brand, we’re breaking down category barriers in 2025, to make choosing Quorn a simple, nutritious, positive protein choice,” he added.
Quorn kicked off a ‘Meals in Minutes’ campaign in January in a push to highlight the convenience of its offering, with investment to drive product availability and merchandising across the chilled and frozen fixtures.
The summer campaign, launched in May, saw the brand back on TV with a multimillion-pound investment centred on chilled meat-free snacks.
Flochel said the ‘Mission Snack Swap’ ads were having an impact, with Quorn growing faster than the competition in snacks and making the biggest share gains over four and 12 weeks.
“2025 will be a pivotal year for Quorn,” he added. “We’ve got big plans ahead and even more wins to come.”
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