Andy Shepherdson, Site Director at Pilgrim’s Pride Ltd. Kings Lynn

Source: Pilgrim’s Pride

The move will create jobs at Pilgrim’s Pride’s cooked meats facility in Norfolk

Pilgrim’s Pride has secured a five-year deal to supply Aldi with fresh pork products from its cooked meats facility in Norfolk.

Running until 2025, the meat supplier’s facility at Kings Lynn will provide packaged hams for the discounter, including honey roast and thick-cut oak smoked ham slice products.

The deal has created 30 new roles, with Pilgrim’s Pride touting the possibility of further recruitment once volumes increase in 2021.

“This agreement represents a significant milestone on our journey to become the best and most respected company in our industry,” said CEO Andrew Cracknell.

“With this new partnership, Aldi has bought into our unrivalled farming base and supply chain, the capabilities and credentials of our factories, and the expertise and passion of our team. We look forward to growing the relationship further in the years ahead.”

Aldi MD of buying Julie Ashfield said the deal would help with its aim to offer consumers “great-quality British food at unbeatable prices”.

The news strikes a turnaround in fortunes for the King’s Lynn facility. In 2017, when the business was known as Tulip and was under the ownership of Danish Crown, a 45-day consultation took place at the facility after it was reported it was suffering from a significant fall in production volumes and was operating at a loss.

Site director Andy Shepherdson said the Aldi deal would secure the King’s Lynn facility’s future “for years to come”.

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