Ulrick & Short Reveals Ambitious Growth Plans
06 Jan 2015 --- Leading British-owned clean label ingredient specialist Ulrick & Short Ltd has unveiled exciting new development plans for the next three years, working to targets that include doubling its sales and the size of its UK headquarters, increasing staff numbers by 70 per cent and expansion into new geographical territories.
Ulrick & Short, which has achieved consistent growth in every year since its inception in 2000, has invested over a quarter of a million Euros over the last two years into equipment, facilities and more staff to meet demand for its products. The company now manufactures in five countries and provides around 60 clean label non-GM starches, flours, proteins & fibres in advanced formulation technologies to food manufacturers for major retailers and foodservice groups, with more than twice that number tested and approved for consumption.
Over the next three years Ulrick & Short is aiming to double in size thanks to market demand, its commitment to innovation, and support from a team of experts completely dedicated to the firm’s ethos of technical excellence and providing the best possible customer experience. The company’s aim is to increase shelf life, reduce fat, simplify labelling and improve the texture and nutritional content of day-to-day processed foods such as baked goods, confectionery and patisserie, processed meats, soups, sauces and battered/breaded products.
Director Adrian Short explained: “At Ulrick & Short we pride ourselves on being one step ahead of market trends. For example, some time ago we anticipated a backlash against ever more complex labelling and the lack of traceability in foodstuffs – and our research during 2014 revealed significant consumer dissatisfaction in these areas. We have been addressing the increasing demand for our clean label non-GM ingredients, many of which are also allergen-free, by recruiting new technicians along with additional sales and support staff in 2014. From the level of sales enquiries we are experiencing, we expect that trend to continue into 2015 and beyond.”
Ulrick & Short has a very well established reputation in the UK and Western Europe, and is now making significant in-roads into worldwide markets. Up to 20% of its total business is export, with new opportunities constantly opening up – the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa (METNA) are net importers of baked goods and a prime target in 2015 for the company’s fat-reducing solutions.
Adrian Short concluded: “We continue to expand our range of cereal and crop based ingredients to provide yet more functionality and versatility to our customers, most recently adding a new potato starch and a refined fat replacer to our offering. Our technicians are constantly exploring new solutions for existing and prospective customers; working with them to improve their customer offering and, thus, their profitability.
“Our reputation for innovation and technical excellence is spreading. New geographical territories are opening up to our clean label approach and we do anticipate an increase in demand from regions such as METNA and Russia, for example. Ulrick & Short is already the leading British owned starch specialist and it’s not inconceivable that, in the next three years, we might become the leading developer and supplier of non-GM clean label ingredients in Europe. That is our aim.”
Ulrick & Short is the leading British-owned starch specialist, supplying food manufacturers across the world with naturally gluten-free ingredients that offer the added bonus of clean label declaration and non-GM transparency and traceability. The company prides itself on its long-term development partnerships across a diverse range of food industry sectors.
