Record growth for food ingredients firm

FOOD ingredient distributor Direct Food Ingredients is tucked-in to strong trading in the first six months of this year with revenue hitting £6.88m.

The 55% increase like-for-like sales uplife for the period from January 1 to June 30 is record for the Macclesfield company founded by director Steve Loake nearly 20 years ago.

Together with co-directors Cath Hough and Brigg Simpson he has built a business which services the UK’s largest food, nutraceuticals, soft drinks and pet food companies as part of its impressive blue-chip client base.
 
Loake said: “Over the past six years we have invested heavily in our infrastructure with new software systems, employee training and development, and with a significantly expanded product portfolio.

“This investment has provided us with a firm base to offer an unparalleled level of customer service, and ensure quality and consistency of delivery.

“We have worked hard to become accredited by the most stringent of industry bodies. This is testament to our QA procedures and meticulously monitored supply chain which sees us regularly visit our factories overseas as part of our comprehensive audit trail.

“We are thrilled that our hard work has translated into the substantial business and client portfolio that we have today.

“The business is growing weekly, not just with new customers coming on board, but also with the size of orders from existing clients, and cross referrals to other divisions within the same group.”

Direct Food Ingredients employs 16 staff and is located on Waters Green in the centre of Macclesfield.