Colman’s to shift mustard manufacturing to Burton on Trent

Colman’s, the iconic mustard-maker, is set to move its production facilities from Norwich to the Midlands.

The firm, which has been making mustard in Norwich for 160 years, will shift its manufacturing plant to Burton on Trent and Germany.

The GMB union says that 43 workers will move from Norwich to Burton, but has described the news as “absolutely devastating”. Marmite and Bovril are already produced at the Burton site.

The Norwich closure plans had first been raised in October when Britvic, which shares the site with Colman’s, said it was leaving Norwich. Unilever, which owns Colman’s, said Britvic’s decision had “serious implications” for its own operations.

It will keep a small operation in Norwich, and a consortium of mustard and mint growers from Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire is set to enter into a new long-term partnership with Unilever.

David Martin, chief executive of the Grower’s Consortium, told the BBC: “This partnership will allow us to jointly develop a new state-of-the-art facility near Norwich.

“We expect that the facility will create around 25 jobs and will open up new possibilities for the future.”