Food firm enjoys a season of growth

Jun 29 2009 by Christopher Knox, The Journal

A MANUFACTURER of food seasoning believes it can double its turnover to more than £7m in five years time after moving into new offices.

Dalesman (Newcastle) Ltd, which was originally set up as Prestige Supplies has doubled the size of its head office, sales and warehouse after moving from its previous 7,000sq ft site in New York Business Park to a nearby 16,000sq ft office and warehouse which it believes will give it the capacity to break into the lucrative bakery market.

The firm was set up in 1987 as Prestige Supplies before merging with Bradford-based Dalesman Group in 2000 and last year saw its sales increase from £3.3m to £3.6m after launching a range of new flavourings.

It is now developing a new range of mixes with low salt and no artificial colours or flavours and plans to target bakers, including Newcastle-based giant Greggs, in order to increase its market share.

Dalesman products, which are manufactured in Bradford, include sausage and burger flavourings, pasty mixes and gravy mixes, which the firm said had continued to sell well despite the economic downturn.

The firm, which invested £50,000 in the new site, believes this continued growth will allow it to add around six extra staff to its 12-strong workforce over the next 12 months.

In addition to Dalesman seasonings, mixes and meat glazes, the Newcastle site specialises in the distribution of spices and ingredients, as well as packaging and sundries to butchers and meat processors in the north of England and Scotland.