Three’s company as collaboration launches frozen food venture

Three experienced food businesses have joined forces to launch a new frozen ingredients supply venture, headquartered in Yorkshire.

It will offer product knowledge and sourcing solutions to food manufacturers and providers.

Known as REMS Frozen Foods, the business is the brainchild of three food industry veterans: James Kempley, group managing director of vegetable, salad and mayonnaise producer Troy Foods in Leeds; Steve Humphrey, managing director of Hessle-based fresh produce trader The Tuber Group; and Adam Shepherd, managing director of food ingredients supplier North Star Foods, based in Leicestershire.

The new company will import frozen food ingredients from around the world, specialising in Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) fruit, vegetables, spices and herbs for further processing by UK and Irish food manufacturers.

Complete with BRC certified technical and supply services and backed by a secured funding facility, REMS will provide a field-to-factory service.

It will manage all aspects of the import and delivery of a range of produce from IQF strawberries, blueberries, mangoes and melons to onions, garlic, ginger, chillies, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, carrots, mushrooms and peppers.

With its head office in Hessle and a trading office in Market Harborough, the business will be headed by Adam Shepherd as managing director and will initially have a six-strong team.

The operation also benefits from offices in China, the USA, Eastern Europe, Spain and Egypt.

Shepherd said: “Having worked in the sector for the last 13 years, I believe the frozen food ingredient supply market is ready for a shake-up.

“This collaboration between our three complementary businesses makes us ideally placed to use our expertise and resources to create a high performance, specialist business that will really meet the needs of food manufacturers, food service providers and retailers by supplying top quality products at competitive prices.

“With our extensive international raw material factory base, we will be able to source and supply a wide range of ingredients from artichokes to zucchini, for use in a vast array of products including ready meals, sausages, sauces, marinades and soups.

“Our aim is to provide a full-service offering, taking care of all aspects from the sourcing, quality control and importing of products to finance, currency exchange, purchase and customs.

“We plan to be established as a fully stand-alone business by the end of 2021 with a team of up to a dozen people, and to be the supplier of choice to all major UK and Irish food manufacturers.

“As well as serving the UK food industry, we also have plans to expand into European markets with ambitions to move further afield too.”