Quorn maker sees losses widen as sales in UK supermarkets tumble

Quorn Foods plant in Billingham.
-Credit: (Image: Teessidelive)


The group behind meat-free brands Quorn and Cauldron says it made progress last year, despite its operating losses widening to more than £57m.

Marlow Foods Ltd manufactures, distributes and sells the two brands’ products across the globe from its bases in Billingham and Stokesley, and has now posted accounts for 2023 in which revenue fell to £204.9m from £220m and operating losses grew from £12.9m to £57.5m.

The last time the company reported a pre-tax profit was in 2021, with earnings of £7.3m. Marlow Foods, which is ultimately owned by Philippines-based Monde Nissin, produces and sells Quorn-branded products in the UK, Europe, Australia, South East Asia and the US, as well as Cauldron-branded products in the UK.

But it said revenues have fallen largely due to the decline in the meat-free category in the UK and US markets, driven by the cost-of-living crisis, although this was partially offset by continued growth in food service.

Quorn’s retail revenue fell from £186.7m to £170.7m in the year, but its food service sales rose from £26.6m to £27.9m.

The company revealed its UK operations were restructured during the year, simplifying structures and reducing roles in UK retail, supply chain, research and development and support functions, beyond changes previously implemented in 2022. Operations in the US were also reduced with the exit of a number of customers in the food service and retail sectors, and a reduction in a number of roles as well as a drop in marketing investment.

The cost incurred in making the changes amounted to £7.1m and over the course of the year, the average number of people employed by Marlow Foods also fell from 934 to 874.

It also said: “Inflationary pressures had a major impact during 2023 with the prices of energy, commodities and other inputs rising significantly above historic levels. These pressures eased through the year but costs remained elevated.

“The group took steps to minimise the impact of this inflation through competitive sourcing, selective forward purchasing and internal efficiency initiatives as well as through increasing the selling prices of some of its products. However, the group seeks to protect its customers and consumers from increased costs and inflationary input cost increases were only partially recovered through selling price increases.”

A report in the accounts said: “In spite of the challenging market conditions, 2023 was a year in which the business continued to innovate and make progress across all the businesses in which it operates. In the retail category the group consolidated its leadership position in its largest market by growing UK retail market share by 0.7% to 32.2%2.”

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