Meadow Foods has expanded its plant-based offering with the launch of Plant & Co Yoat, a dairy-free yoghurt alternative made using its signature oat and coconut base.
Manufactured in the Cheshire-based supplier’s £4m plant-based facility, which opened in 2020, the yoghurts are available now to foodservice operators. They will be stocked in a number of outlets, including hospitals, schools and hotels, the brand said.
The Yoat range is available in several flavours including Natural, Strawberry, Raspberry and Peach. They come in 85g pots, primarily aimed at children, and a larger 110g size, said Meadow’s plant-based MD Jack Hancock.
The product is also available in bulk formats for foodservice and food manufacturers.
“We’ve used our experience and expertise to develop a fantastic yoghurt alternative that is of the highest quality and doesn’t compromise on taste or texture,” he said. “Yoat will be perfect for the foodservice and food manufacturing sectors as the consumer demand for dairy-free yoghurt grows.”
The NPD represented the latest move by the supplier to bolster its plant-based offering, he added, after the original launch of the Plant & Co brand last May.
Hancock said the business had invested investing a further £1m in its plant-based the operation over the past year, allowing it to offer “a scaled” and consistent offering across three fronts: to its retail and branded partners, its food service customers and to industrial partners – who used Meadow products in food manufacturing.
The business was also looking to make further investments in the expansion of its tanker dispatch operation and in new packing lines this year, he said.
It comes as the supplier has also announced a trio of new hires, which includes one internal promotion.
Andy Smith joins the business as commercial director for Meadow Foods’ speciality ingredients division, Lorraine Hammond joins the business as HR director while company stalwart Alun Lewis becomes the company’s first head of sustainability.
With more than 20 years of global experience in the food industry with companies such as Quorn Foods, Mondelez and Roberts bakery, Smith will assume responsibility for the sales, NPD, and marketing departments, focusing on customer innovation and identifying new markets for business growth.
Hammond will oversee the company’s HR strategy, as well as talent acquisition and people development, and brings with her more than 20 years of experience in providing HR support to global SMEs and private partnership organisations.
And to support the company’s “ambitious sustainability plans”, Lewis – who has been with the company for 15 years – will lead, develop, influence, and deliver the organisation’s sustainability strategy, reporting to the executive team.
The hires follow the announcement last month that Sysco Specialty Group CEO Raj Tugnait will become the new chief executive of Meadow Foods in May, replacing Mark Chantler, who will remain a “key part of the leadership team with a seat on the board as a non-executive director and a significant shareholder”.
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