Quorn mum or dad firm suffers £63m loss as demand for plant-based merchandise falls

Marlow Meals, the mum or dad firm of plant-based model Quorn, has reported a £63m loss as demand for meat alternate options continues to wane.

Gross sales fell by 6.9% to £205m within the final monetary 12 months, prompting the corporate to shed practically 100 jobs as a part of a restructuring programme. Quorn’s gross sales throughout retailers dropped 8.6% within the 12 months resulting in December 2023, reflecting a broader decline within the recognition of veganism within the UK.

The downturn comes as inflation and rising prices for vitality and substances put further pressure on the corporate. Marlow Meals’ total workforce decreased from 934 to 874 final 12 months because it sought to manage prices amid a difficult market setting.

Marlow Meals’ CEO, Marco Bertacca, acknowledged the difficulties, stating, “Twenty twenty-three was a difficult 12 months the place excessive inflation and rates of interest continued to place stress on shoppers and on the price of producing our nice meals.” He added that regardless of efforts to minimise value will increase, the corporate’s makes an attempt to take care of affordability led to losses.

The stoop within the plant-based business has affected different manufacturers as effectively, with corporations like Meatless Farm and VBites collapsing into administration. Market information reveals gross sales of chilled meat alternate options fell by 9.7% within the 12 months to Could, additional reflecting the business’s struggles.

Regardless of the challenges, Bertacca stays assured in Quorn’s mycoprotein expertise, which makes use of a fermented fungus to create protein-rich alternate options: “We actually consider that there’s nothing fairly like mycoprotein. Fungi and fermentation might be the protein answer the planet wants.”

Jamie Younger

Jamie is a seasoned enterprise journalist and Senior Reporter at Enterprise Issues, bringing over a decade of expertise in UK SME enterprise reporting.
Jamie holds a level in Enterprise Administration and commonly participates in business conferences and workshops to remain on the forefront of rising tendencies.

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