Cofresh Snack Foods to invest £20m in new factory

Leicester-based Cofresh Snack Foods has announced the acquisition of an additional food production and warehousing facility to cater for significant growth and expansion.

An investment of approximately £20m over the next 18 months will enable Cofresh to split its snack production between two sites and increase annual turnover to more than £100m.

Cofresh Snack Foods is investing £20m at a new snack factory in Nuneaton that will create new jobs / Picture: Cofresh

The company’s current site in Leicester will continue to specialise in traditional Indian snacks while the new facility, on a seven-acre site in Nuneaton, will be dedicated to the manufacture of its Eat Real ‘healthier snacking’ brand to cater for the growing demand for ‘free from’ snacks.

Cofresh is planning to extend its Nuneaton site from 140,000 to 180,000 sq ft, bringing the company’s total production and warehousing ‘footprint’ to just under 400,000 sq ft.

Cofresh Managing Director, Priyesh Patel, said: “We’re delighted to be taking this hugely significant step in the development of our business. Nuneaton’s central location is well-placed for our customer base and offers a great infrastructure and easy access from our primary location in nearby Leicester, while the site itself is perfect for our immediate needs and offers great potential for our ambitious business growth.”

Nuneaton MP, Marcus Jones, added: “I’m delighted to welcome this long-standing family business to Nuneaton. Cofresh and its Eat Real brand are expanding rapidly and I very much welcome this significant investment and creation of new jobs on a site which has been vacant for some time.”

Cofresh Snack Foods is a long-established Leicester business. Since 1974, it has manufactured traditional and authentic Indian snacks – including ‘the nation’s favourite’ Bombay Mix – and is now the UK’s No 1 Indian snack brand. In 2015, it launched the healthier snacking brand Eat Real in response to the growing demand for ‘free from’ and vegan snacks, which now include the popular Hummus, Lentil and Quinoa Chips, Quinoa Puffs and Veggie Straws.