Quorn to build £7m vegan research hub in UK as food sales soar

The food maker's new plant in North Yorkshire will create hundreds of jobs and aim to capitalise on a growing appetite for meat-free products

The vegan and vegetarian sector is growing between 10 and 20 per cent year on year (Quorn foods)

Food giant Quorn is pumping a further £7m into a new product development centre, in a move that will create hundreds of jobs at its North Yorkshire headquarters.

It follows a 12 per cent jump in half-year sales, as the company said it had logged like-for-like sales of £112m during the first six months of the year – up from around £100m for the same period in 2017.

It has now announced a further £7m investment in its new “Global Innovation Centre”, based at its headquarters in Stokesley, North Yorkshire.

The site will help bolster its capabilities in both fermentation of mycoprotein - which is core to its products – and aid product development.

Quorn said the new centre will see the creation of “hundreds of jobs” in the region over the next five years.

Quorn has been capitalising on a growing appetite for meat-free products amid the growing popularity of vegan, vegetarian and so-called flexitarian diets, with the sector growing between 10 and 20 per cent year-on-year.

Its chief executive Kevin Brennan said: “We hope to demonstrate that there are great British businesses in the north that can win on a global stage.

“We are already seeing amazing growth internationally: Australian sales are up 50 per cent and US sales are up 23 per cent.

“With continued investment we believe we can continue this level of performance.”

Mr Brennan says the company is on track to become a “billion dollar business” by 2027.

He added: “We are seeing lots of Silicon Valley investment and hype in this space but we have already built up 30 years of expertise in the meat-free category.

“With our renewed investment in R&D [research and development] we expect to lead the way for decades to come.”

PA