Crunch time for scratching
A firm that has made the favourite Black Country delicacy pork scratchings for more than three decades is giving the snack a revamp in a bid to make it more appealing to young people and women.
Right: Red Mill snacks sell 18 million bags of scratchings a year
Wednesbury based Red Mill Snack Foods has been manufacturing Mr Porky scratchings since 1974 and supplies pubs, bars, supermarkets, convenience stores, petrol forecourts and cash and carries with an impressive 18 million bags every year.
But recently the entire Porky range has been overhauled to encourage younger consumers and more women to give scratchings a try.
Red Mill's commercial director Nick Ripley said: "We have improved recipes on all the snacks and created two completely new lines, which are exclusive to Red Mill. The project also involved redesigning all our packaging, both in terms of appearance and functionality in that everything is now foil-packed for freshness. We are proud of the end results and confident the overhaul can help Mr Porky reinforce its position as market leader."
Right: Staff at Wednesbury based Red Mill Snack Foods
Nick said: "If people haven't tried scratchings before or find them a bit heavy going, Bacon Bites are a delicious alternative. They are a bit like a bacon sandwich in a bag and will appeal to a much wider market, particularly women."
Red Mill employs 350 staff at its seven acre site in Wednesbury on Globe Street and at a second plant in Westhoughton, Bolton, collectively producing half a billion bags of snacks a year.
The Most popular brands include 10p Fun Snacks - Tangy Toms, Quarter Backs and Krunchie Sticks - Transform-a-Snacks and the Red Mill Favourites range of Onion Rings, Bacon Streaks and Cheese Balls.
On the private label side of the business, Red Mill supplies many major supermarkets and food producers with a variety of bagged snacks and is the UK's largest manufacturer of tortilla chips for the private label market.
These products have helped the company build a turnover of £35 million a year. Red Mill is owned by parent company Continental Foods, which in turn is owned by private equity investors advised by Mezzanine Management.
The company has won a number of awards in recent years and prides itself on being "a great place to work".
Central to this is a comprehensive training and development programme, which is accessible to everyone, regardless of their position or level of experience.
All staff sit recognised exams for qualifications in health and safety and and hygiene. Last year around 100 employees also achieved the NVQ level 2 in Food & Drink Manufacturing.
Managing director James McKinney said: "Red Mill is an exciting and diverse company where individuals are made to feel valued and the end product is something everyone can be proud of.
"We feel our benefits package is second to none in the region and through training and a focus on multi-skilling we can offer people the chance to progress their careers and better their pay, while also improving the overall profitability of the business."
By Simon Penfold
