Nottingham giant gobbles up major party food and dips operators

Nottingham-based Compleat Food Group, the company behind the Pork Farms and Wall’s brands, has made a double acquisition.

The firm has bought SK Foods and Zorba Foods from The Entrepreneurial Food Group. The two food businesses operate in the private label chilled party foods and dips and deli fillings market, with a combined turnover of over £160m and over 1,150 employees.

Formed in 1987, Teesside-based SK Foods employs over 770 people and specialises in party foods including Indian, Oriental, Tex Mex, Mediterranean, and traditional British favourites. It holds around 40% of the market share for private label party foods outside of the Christmas period and became part of The Entrepreneurial Food Group in 1999.

South Wales-based Zorba Foods was formed in 1976. Now employing nearly 380 people at its Gwent site, it started out creating authentic Greek houmous, before expanding to cover a range of Greek, Traditional, Tex Mex and Asian-inspired dips and sauces, alongside soups, for retail and foodservice. It holds around 25% share of the private label dips market and became part of the Entrepreneurial Food Group in 2003.

Nick Field, CEO at the Compleat Food Group said: “We’re incredibly excited about these two significant additions and what they bring to the group, with both companies having strong heritage in their categories for creating great food that people love. We plan to continue investment in both companies to extend their respective capabilities, allowing us to further innovate and inspire within their categories.

“For The Compleat Food Group, these acquisitions accelerate our commitment to build on our breadth of capability, increase our category leadership position, and deliver more excitement and interest to delight our consumers, driving sustained growth in the sector.”

Jeremy Faulkner, CEO of both SK Foods and Zorba, said: “At the heart of both SK Foods and Zorba is a commitment to real food values. It’s what our reputations have been founded on and why we are able to say that we are category leaders.

“With The Compleat Food Group, we have found a natural partner who not only shares our values, but also the ambition to invest and support us in driving further innovation and growth for our categories and key partners.”