In addition, there are at least 2,500 active agricultural holdings, which account for a small number of self-employed people.
A diverse range of producers
Of this total, three major employers, Dairy Crest, GlaxoSmithKline and Unilever Frozen Foods, jointly employ 2,350 people (mainly concentrated in Coleford, Gloucester and Stonehouse). Kraft, with an operational headquarters in Cheltenham, is excluded from sector employment figures because the local team is not directly involved in production or food supply chains. The majority of Gloucestershire food and drink businesses are small niche players, mainly micro businesses and small to medium enterprises, with a wide range of product interests.
The sector is also dominated by family businesses, all started because of the unique characteristics of a particular location or the founder’s specialist skills.
The main sub-sectors are as follows:
- Dairy products
- Cordials, soft drinks and health drinks
- Brewing and wine production
- Ice cream and frozen foods
- Meat
- Flavourings
- Catering suppliers.
FE & HE Institutions offering Full & Part-Time Food & Beverage Courses & Training
Gloucestershire benefits from excellent access to local training and education. There is also a Food Vision for Gloucestershire, which underpins partners’ commitment to moving towards better health, education and training for both individuals and businesses in the sector.
INVESTOR PROFILES
Unilever Frozen Foods UK
As the world’s largest ice cream manufacturer, Unilever’s Gloucester factory is home to some of the world’s best-loved brands. From Viennetta to Magnum, and Cornetto to Carte D’Or, the Gloucester site’s 500+ employees have produced the world’s favourite ice creams for decades. To put that in perspective, Magnum, one of the most popular impulse buy ice cream brands, sells one billion units a year.
GlaxoSmithKline
Ninety-five percent of the UK’s total blackcurrant crop is processed into the popular soft drink Ribena. Each year, GlaxoSmithKline processes around 12,000 tonnes of the fruit into approximately 2 million litres of concentrate; this is then processed and distributed from the company’s plant in Coleford, in the Forest of Dean. The company is currently exploring new levels of traceability for consumers, which would link each bottle back to an individual farm – rather like fine French wine, but costing considerably less!
Dairy Crest
As the UK’s premier chilled dairy foods company, Dairy Crest has invested £39m at Severnside, in Stonehouse, to create the company’s second super dairy, with more than 600 employees. The site comprises a dairy and a creamery, and produces fresh milk, in a wide range of polybottles and cartons, for major grocery retailers. Other products include fresh milk portions, butter, cream, buttermilk powder, skimmed milk concentrate and milk powder.
Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association (CCFRA)
CCFRA is the world’s largest membership based food and drink research centre. Based in the Cotswold town of Chipping Campden, CCFRA undertakes R&D for the many industries associated with agriculture, food and drink manufacture, distribution, retailing and food service. It also provides the technical and advisory services needed to ensure product safety and quality, process efficiency, product and process innovation. Facilities include three fully equipped food-processing halls, product and process development facilities, a leading-edge sensory analysis suite, and extensive research and analytical laboratories covering microbiology, hygiene, chemistry, biochemistry and microscopy.
Bottlegreen Drinks
As a cottage industry started in 1987, Bottlegreen is one of the major successes among local specialist producers. The company started as a small-scale home production of elderflower cordials for friends, family and the local farmers’ markets. More than 20 years later, Bottlegreen has grown and diversified to supply UK supermarkets as well as exporting worldwide.
Seeking further advice and information?
Contact the Invest in Gloucestershire Team
Other Useful Links
Taste of the West (TOTW) is a not-for-profit membership organisation providing key support for the economic development of the Food & Drink industry throughout the South West. www.tasteofthewest.co.uk
The South West Food & Drink Skills Network provides active support to small and medium-sized enterprises to help them improve basic skills within the regional food and drink industry. www.swfoodanddrinkskills.co.uk
The South West Manufacturing Advisory Service (SWMAS) is one of ten manufacturing advisory services set up by the DTI, whose brief is to help manufacturers improve their productivity through subsidised advice. www.swmas.co.uk
IMPROVE is a sector forum that helps employers to reduce skills gaps, increase productivity, and improve learning supply in food and drink manufacturing and processing. www.improveltd.co.uk