Germany-based frozen ready meals business Apetito is planning to build a new manufacturing facility in the UK.
The plant will be located adjacent to Apetito’s existing factory on Canal Road in Trowbridge, a town in the county of Wiltshire, south-west England. It will be constructed on land formerly occupied by the company’s so-called Pie Site, which closed at the end of 2024, according to a statement.
Apetito, which also operates a meal delivery service in the UK to people’s homes known as Wiltshire Farm Foods, said there will be no changes to the current Trowbridge factory, the Mill Site, also situated on Canal Road.
That facility employs 670 people as part of a UK workforce of around 2,000.
The final plans for the new site are still being finalised, a spokesperson for Apetito told Just Food when approached to confirm the finer details of the capacity expansion and the number of new jobs.
This publication has, however, asked Apetito to clarify how many plants the business operates in the UK and overseas, and when work on the new project is expected to begin.
Apetito is a privately owned company set up in 1958 by the Düsterberg family. Headquartered in Rheine, Germany, the business entered the UK in 1991 and supplies hospitals, schools, nurseries and care homes with a range of frozen ready meals.
Headed up by group CEO Dr. Jan-Peer Laabs, the Apetito group generated sales in 2023 of €1.3bn ($1.4bn) and employs more than 12,700 staff across its international operations, which as well as the UK, includes Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, the US and Canada, according to its website.
Consolidated sales revenue for the group has grown from €1.03bn in 2020 to reach €1.09bn in 2022.
Lee Sheppard, the director of corporate affairs, policy and sustainability for Apetito and Wiltshire Farm Foods in the UK, said in the statement that local growth has led to the need for the expansion in Trowbridge, where the company claims to be the largest “private” employer.
Plans for the new site have been drawn up to be presented to the Wiltshire Planning Office for approval.
“It’s very important to us that we build a world-class, regenerative, manufacturing facility for Trowbridge that aligns to our commitment to reach net zero by 2040,” Sheppard said.
“We aim to create one of the most sustainable food manufacturing facilities in the UK.”
