TMI doubles bacon capacity to fill sandwich market
of the ongoing explosion in the domestic ready-made sandwich
market.
The UK cooked ingredient company has just completed the £1 million scheme at its Coventry factory.
The programme involved the installation of the latest in smoke ovens to enable TMI Foods to use natural smoking techniques with beech, apple or oak wood. The company will also be able to cure a variety of flavours including traditional dry cure, sweet, maple, and malt.
The move represents a concerted attempt by the firm to take advantage of the explosion in the domestic sandwich filling market.
"The investment has significantly broadened our curing capacity and as well as enabling us to introduce a wider range of special cures, it has enhanced our production controls and traceability," said managing director David Abbott.
"It has also improved our ability to fine tune cures and smoke flavours, as well as deliver bespoke products in economic quantities and precisely to customers' requirements."
The British Sandwich association estimates that the domestic commercial sandwich market is worth around £3.5 billion, equating to around 2,432 million sandwiches. The market for cooked bacon alone is currently worth £70 million, and TMI believes that there is scope for further growth as demand for sandwiches, ready meals and snack foods increases.
"Bacon as an ingredient is becoming increasingly popular and we are working side by side with our customers to help them create points of difference," said Abbott. "Our new curing facility goes a long way to helping us achieve that."
The completion of the plant expansion concludes two years of investment by the company. TNI currently produces more than 10 million rashers of bacon every week.
Sandwich sales are increasingly being seen as a good barometer of changing lifestyles. The British Sandwich Association argues that changing social attitudes are often reflected in the sandwiches people buy.
For instance, there is evidence that Britons are becoming more health conscious, with sales of healthy eating sandwiches up by around 11 per cent year-on-year. These sandwiches now account for some 8.2 per cent of sales.
