EVRON FOODS SEEKS FURTHER GROWTH WITH £400K R&D INVESTMENT

With support from Invest Northern Ireland, Craigavon-based Evron Foods is investing almost £400,000 to develop innovative new products, strengthen its management team and boost turnover. Evron Foods manufactures a range of chilled, frozen and ambient breads and pastries for sale to the catering and retail trades around the UK and Ireland. The investment, backed by an offer of over £140,000 from Invest NI with funding from the European Regional Development Programme, is enabling Evron to investigate a new range of sweet muffin-style products in order to meet a recognised gap in the market. The company has also appointed a commercial manager and key account manager to drive forward business development and implement efficiency savings. Evron lists several high profile names in the food and grocery industry as clients, including Subway, ASDA and Sainsbury. Last year the company cemented its relationship with Subway for a number of years into the future in a multi-million pound deal. With this latest investment Evron now hopes to boost its annual turnover by an additional 50 percent within the next three years. Congratulating the company on the project, Invest NI's Director of Innovation, Research and Technology, Carol Keery, said: ???Evron has over 25 years' experience in the food industry and has grown into a multi-site operation with a turnover of almost £20 million. This is thanks in large part to the company's longstanding commitment to innovation in both new product development and in its production processes. ???By analysing the market and identifying taste trends, Evron has consistently developed new products which are popular with consumers. The company recognises the need to continue doing so in order to maintain its strong performance and this investment will ensure it is well equipped to do so.??? Morris Evans, Managing Director of Evron Foods, said: ???Alongside the constant challenge of meeting and exceeding the expectations of our customers with our products, we have recently been faced with increasing pressure on our overheads. Flour, butter and electricity costs have all risen dramatically in recent times, but this further motivates us to be innovative in how we do things. ???With the support of Invest NI, we now hope to achieve additional efficiencies by further strengthening our management team, whilst increasing our foothold in the retail bakery market around the UK and Ireland with our new sweet muffin range. The investment will ensure that we have the skills and capability necessary to continue growing the business in the face of stiff economic challenges.???