Prima plans to be a big cheese

Apr 6 2010 Business & Enterprise North East

A Seaham based cheese supplier is hoping to get a bigger 'pizza the action' after receiving help from Business Link.

The family run company, which supplies grated cheese to wholesalers for the frozen and takeaway pizza sectors, has gained an important British Retail Consortium, BRC, accreditation which will allow it to supply bigger companies, including the public sector.

Prima used a business consultancy to work for its accreditation and Business Link adviser Colin Bunn was able to assist the company to access funding from the North East England Investment Centre (NEEIC) to support the project. Prima also used Business Link’s brokerage service, the North East England Service Provider Register (NEESPR), to identify and select a suitable consultant.

The company, which was established in 1996, expects an annual turnover of about £17m next year, having grown from £10m in 2006/2007. It has 46 employees and over the past two to three years has expanded its Seaham Grange Industrial Estate site and installed state-of-the-art food production facilities.

Initially Prima only supplied North East England but in the last two years it has been serving clients throughout the UK.

But, as the business grew, to the extent where it is now believed to be one of England’s main grated cheese suppliers, it became apparent that its procedures would have to be updated.

Commercial director Nagma Ebanks-Beni said: “About three or four years ago, we pin-pointed that all aspects of things needed to be changed, from sales to delivery and from manufacturing to distribution, it all needed to be tightened up to run more smoothly.’

“Prima Cheese has created a new, improved production area and an additional production line to sustain increased demand. We have a new office area to restructure working practices creating an efficient, modern and fresh approach to the way in which we deal with our day-to-day operations.’’

And to achieve the next stage of its growth and development, Prima knew it would have to have BRC accreditation. BRC is one of the leading global inspection and certification schemes available within the food sector. Producers, retailers, manufacturers, farmers and caterers throughout the world work with BRC to develop inspection and certification to ensure high standards of food safety and quality.

Mrs Ebanks-Beni said: “It’s an industry recognised benchmark. It tightens up our quality procedure, in terms of documentation, and makes us a much more credible company to do business with within the food sector. We hope to be tender-ready by the end of 2010 and we can get into selling to bigger companies, even the NHS and schools, because for anyone in those sectors, you need BRC. Business Link was very supportive, they came in and discussed it with us and advised us and the consultants have done a fantastic job and were very thorough.’’

So, the firm is now gearing up for a sales drive in 2010.

“I’m already in contact with potential customers and I’ve been setting up meetings with and making contact with companies, so by the middle of next year, we should see things coming through,’’ said Mrs Ebanks-Beni.

Prima also believes it is poised for growth because the pizza industry does not appear to be suffering during harder economic times. When people can no longer afford to eat out, they are more inclined to order takeaway pizzas.

Mrs Ebanks-Beni said: “We forsee the market continuing to expand, so we need to be in a position to react to changes in the market. With no indication of a downturn in the market, we have also identified that there is growth in various pizza cheese blends depending on region, which is a market that we can react to immediately.’’

Colin Bunn said: “Prima Cheese is an example of a dynamic North East company that is weathering the economic downturn by careful attention to detail throughout the business. In every area the company has been pro-active in managing its fate – in purchasing and supply, manufacturing and process operations, financial management, staff training and sales and marketing. The result is a company and workforce that are well placed to come out of recession in excellent shape and ready for growth.’’

Business Link has a team of expert advisers who offer advice, help and information to individuals and companies across the region, giving them access to the ‘business brains’ who will help to get their business idea off the ground, or grow their existing company.

For further information about Business Link visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/northeast  or call 0845 600 9 006.