UK – International ingredient manufacturer and supplier, Macphie has completed the £4m(US$4.01m) upgrade project at its Tannochside facility to support its expansion into the frozen ice cream and dessert market.
The investment supported the reconstruction of the 25,000 sq ft North Lanarkshire facility to accommodate the newly procured state-of-the-art manufacturing lines and end-of-line packaging machinery.
The factory will also be able to add new lines over the coming months as part of the major business growth plans.
Macphie also said it has restarted full-scale production for the first time since it consolidated all operations to its Glenbervie headquarters near Stonehaven in mid-2020, a move made in response to the forced closure of many of its customers’ businesses.
However, it revealed that output was on track to exceed pre-pandemic levels before the end of the year and it expects even further growth.
Andy Stapley, chief executive of Macphie, said: “This is our biggest ever investment programme at Tannochside since we acquired the site in 2000 and is a show of our long-term commitment to the region.
“The facility is at the very cutting edge and is allowing us to deliver quality that shines through.”
These buildup strategies Macphie is undertaking come at a time when the ice cream and frozen dessert market is facing growth attributed to rising disposable income leading to impulse purchases, the introduction of a wide range of new flavors, and increased demand for different types of frozen desserts across the globe.
The Business Research Company projects the global ice cream and frozen dessert market size to grow from US$98.15 billion in 2021 to US$108.15 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2% and further to US$154.12 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 9.3%.
Macphie has grown from its root as a craft baker in 1928 into an ingredients supplier worth over £60m, supplying global food brands, household name businesses, and the wholesale sector, which has put it into sustainability focus.
The company vowed to continue with sustainability efforts after being among Scotland’s first businesses to achieve B Corp status in 2015, having successfully evidenced a high standard of social and environmental performance.
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