Fruitapeel

(L to R) Fruitapeel finance director Neil Murgatroyd and MD Terry Haigh

Fruit and confectionery sauce maker Fruitapeel saw sales rocket 31% last year, as it was taken over by Belgian confectionery group Puratos.

The private label manufacturer drove sales from £10.4m to £13.6m in the year ending 28 February 2018, which it said was achieved through “the strength of the company brands”.

As well increasing sales, the supplier grew pre-tax profits 84% to £1.97m, following “growth in sales and operating efficiencies”, it said in newly filed Companies House documents.

Puratos acquired the business in December 2017, and during the year “invested into increasing capacity in its core business”, as well transferring out its “non-core” soup and dairy free yoghurt businesses.

The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, came less than seven months after Terry and Deborah Haigh bought the Fruitapeel business from existing fellow shareholders in an MBO.

Established in 2006 by Terry Haigh, Fruitapeel produces fruit and confectionery sauces for the retail and foodservice sectors across the UK, including ice cream brands, farm shops and artisan producers, as well as fruit purees, compotes, coulis, jams and preserves for the cakes and bakery industry.

It featured in The Grocer Fast 50 in 2016 and 2017, with a two-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.7%.