£3m
Blakemore Fresh Foods has said its turnover reached a new high of £39 million for the 2014/15 financial year, an increase of £3 million on the year before, after it secured 40 new clients and opened a new office in Bristol at the start of this year.
The growth comes after a period of substantial investment for the fresh meat wholesaler and importer, which has opened three other new offices and a £3.5 million cutting and storage facility over the past five years.
Trading director, Richard Brownjohn, said the company had big ambitions for further growth: “It is our ambition to be recognised as one of the top five meat importers and wholesalers in the UK, and the contribution of those within our new offices, in addition to the existing expertise that we have across our operation, will be vital towards us achieving this goal.”
Pork farmers supplying Waitrose have saved an estimated £850,000 on feed per year since 2010, following a £3 million investment to roll out an innovative feeding system known as Eco Pig.
The feeding system has a lower environmental impact than traditional systems, according to Waitrose, which reported on the investment in the 2015 John Lewis Partnership annual report, published on 24 April 2015.
Waitrose has a sole pork supplier, Dalehead Foods, and its subsidiary, BQP, footed the £3 million bill.
Waitrose said its “respectful partnership approach” with suppliers had given BQP the ability to invest in the individual farms with which it works. “This helps to increase capacity, improve standards and efficiency, and encourage the next generation of farmers,” the annual report stated. “This respectful partnership approach has given BQP the ability to invest in the individual farms with which it works.”
The report added that, since 2010, 44 of Dalehead’s farmer partners have invested more than £13 million in buildings, during a period of low confidence in the sector as a whole, to create new capacity.