Peterborough-based milk supplier has ambitious plans for years of new growth

Barrie Elsom, site director of Meadow Foods, in Peterborough.

A milk supplier in Peterborough, whose products end up in most supermarkets, has unveiled ambitious growth plans.

A £3 million plus investment has been lined up for Meadow Foods, in Whitehead Drive, Fengate, where it employs about 70 people.

Site director Barrie Elsom said the investment will fund new packaging lines and efficiency improvements.

Other projects are also planned but not yet budgeted.

Meadow Foods supplies milk and cream to leading food manufacturers such as Greencore and Bakkavor, with the final products ending up on the shelves in the nation’s supermarkets.

Mr Elsom said: “We tend to be under the radar for most people, because our products are an ingredient, but most people will have consumed them.

“We want to be more in the market place, and more aggressive. The quality of our products and service will be key to our success.

“We have a three/four year plan to grow the site. It will mean more jobs. We are looking to recruit now. With further growth over the next two years we could reach the 100 mark.”

The production process at Meadow Foods, in Peterborough.

He said: “Our finished goods last year totalled 72,000 tonnes, and this year it will be 83,000 tonnes - a 15 per cent growth on last year. Our turnout has increased by 56 per cent over the past five years.

“We are putting on new product lines. We are just out talking to customers to see what it is they want but we don’t provide. These are exciting and challenging times.”

The dairy turns out 44 million litres of milk and 26 tonnes of cream a year.

Its milk is provided by about 650 dairy farmers - mostly from Cheshire. Looking after its farmers is paramount. The company has just increased the amount it pays for a litre of milk and devised new encouragement for young farmers.