Enfield factory on a meaty mission
24 September 2008
Its mission is to be a leading manufacturer to the retail and foodservice markets for cooked frozen foods. And it’s well on its way. David Strydom visited Snowbird Foods’ factory.
My visit to Snowbird Foods’ factory in Ponders End, Enfield, was eye opening for many reasons. Most noteworthy was the openness of the personnel – you get the feeling they are as transparent a company as you’re likely to find in the meat processing business. This may be owing to the fact that, as eventual suppliers to Tesco, they are subject to random factory audits, which means they can never relax their guard.
But I’m getting ahead of myself: who is Snowbird Foods, and what exactly do they do?
The company is owned by JJ Tranfield and is a £12 million per/annum manufacturer of what it describes as innovative cooked gourmet sausages, meatball ranges and bacon products to the specialist sandwich, ready meal manufacturers and leisure foodservice direct sectors.
It was established 31 years ago and now employs 75 people. It produces and cooks 2.25 million sausages a week and 6.5 million slices per annum. The company says it has the capacity to produce 150 million units per annum with its current facility; with the new facility it will be able to double this number.
And how exactly is its ‘cake’ cut in terms of product sales? Premium products make up the majority of the cake with 36%, followed by gourmet with 15% and low fact/salt with 14%. Stuffing is 11%, meatballs are nine per cent, frankfurters are eight per cent, standard are four per cent, and bacon is three per cent.
Like an increasing number of meat processors in the UK today, Snowbird Foods’ approach to hygiene and safety can barely be faulted. As Roy Anderson, sales director, gave me the factory tour, I noted how neatly the warehousing had been organised. The atmosphere among the factory staff was friendly, jovial even – it was difficult to believe it was a Monday morning!
In its media pack, Snowbird provides a market update. "The market has seen an increase year-on-year," it says. "Volume sales on sausages has grown 17% from 2000-2005. However value growth was faster at 23% during the same period, to £350 million in 2005.
"The market is still being driven by the more premium end and the upward trend in sales has encouraged new product development. Most activity has been in added value end-of-the-market such as new flavours pork, smoked bacon, garlic and pork and chilli recipes.
"In the ready meal and component category, there is also an expanded presence with traditional meals. As with other sectors of the food market, health has not been ignored with new extra-lean recipes, low fat, low carb and additive-free."
Snowbird Foods invests heavily in machinery. It says in excess of £5 million has been spent over the past two years on three new Giro freezers; a combi cooker with optional flash-frying unit; a new in-line meatball and stuffing ball machine; and a new NPD facility. Other machinery includes on line metal detectors; a new mixer used for gourmet natural casings and stuffing balls; and new filler to control weights on natural casing products.
The company’s 2007/08 investments include a new combi cooker line, multihead weighing system, mincer, additional meatball former and an extension to the existing combi cooker.
As for NPD capabilities, under the watchful eye of Jason Drage, the company adheres to some guiding principles. It has a structured product review presentations and feedback procedure; information and work environment exchange; unit visits are conducted for menu style and operations needs, and there is a database of 1,000 recipe ideas. When I asked Jason what drives his thinking on NPD, he said: "What we think the customer wants, something new, something different, something we can manufacture – we’re always looking at ways of improving. We keep updated with trends by communicating with supermarkets, chain restaurants etc. Things become trendy in different places at different times. An example is sausages made with fruit – 10 years ago that was huge in Germany. But only now is starting to take off as a trend in the UK."
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