UK food ingredients manufacturer Macphie has said it is looking at entering South East Asia and Northern Europe as part of its growth strategy.
Macphie exports to around 27 countries but, speaking to just-food at the Food & Drink Expo in the UK city of Birmingham, sales and marketing director Andrew Underwood said the company is now looking at four additional regions.
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“We are looking, on a targeted basis, to enter northern Europe and we have had a lot of interest from the US and Canada,” Underwood said. “We are looking at south-east Asia but it is different how you work within these markets. There is no dramatic rush, we are going to do it in our own time. There is still lots of opportunity in the UK though, so we would be silly to ignore that.”
Separately, Underwood said the company, like others within the industry, has had to battle increasing commodity costs this year, particularly egg prices, which have seen a dramatic increase in the wake of the introduction of an EU ruling on animal welfare. The legislation, introduced in January, banned the use of conventional barren battery cages. Instead, eggs produced in the EU must come from chickens that live in “enriched” colony cages.
“In the last few years we have seen a huge impact on prices, the latest being eggs, which has affected the whole marketplace,” Underwood told just-food. “It’s going to be another very difficult year as sugar also remains high. The knock-on of the EU ruling means it could have a massive impact. We all know that as the population grows, it’s going to be more difficult to provide the increasing commodities that people need.”
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