Northern Irish porridge business in £1m export growth plan
White's Oats in Northern Ireland is investing over £1 million and creating 29 new jobs in a drive to expand sales of its porridge and snack products In Britain, Ireland and further afield.
The company, based at Tandragee in county Armagh and part of the Fane Valley Group, Northern Ireland's biggest farmers' co-operative since 1994, is Ireland's largest oat miller and a leading producer of porridge oats and other snack and breakfast products for international markets.
Trevor Lockhart, group chief executive of Fane Valley, says: "This is a very significant expansion for White's and is an integral part of our wider Fane Valley Group strategy to grow our business operations profitably by sharpening our focus on sales outside Northern Ireland.
"White's is operating in the immensely competitive and fast moving breakfast cereal marketplace. We benefit particularly from our sustainable supply chain and close relationship with local farmers. This ensures the provenance, traceability and safety being increasingly demanded by consumers in all markets."
James Mathers, general manager of White's, adds: "We have invested heavily in our mill in Tandragee in recent years from the most advanced photo scanning technology to more recently the installation of two new packing lines. The business now has the capability to produce multiple pack formats from traditional block bottom, vertical form fill and seal, sachet portioning, caddy and 'eat on the go' pots".
"Health and convenience represent two key consumer trends which White's is ideally placed to service. The benefits of regularly eating porridge oats has been well recognised by consumers and health professionals. Our focus is on producing healthy, convenient and natural products and making them available to time pressed consumers. The opportunities looking forward are very exciting."
The company has won a series of Great Taste Awards and aims to double sales and profits over the next three years, White's has developed a new business growth strategy that involves process improvements, skills development and new marketing initiatives to raise its profile in its existing markets as well as the rest of Europe, US, Asia and the Middle East.
The company has a solid base for growth in terms of an impressive range of quality products and is positioned for further expansion abroad. Opportunities for further growth in global markets have been identified and plans are now being implemented to convert these into additional export business that will benefit employees, the 25 local farmers who provide oats to the business, other suppliers and the wider community.
White's was founded in 1841 and currently employs 36 people in its milling and processing operations to produce a range of branded and private label porridge products and oat snacks.
Northern Ireland's only oat miller, White's also supplies products to other manufacturers of breakfast cereals and has grown sales in export markets including the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, the US, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China.