United Biscuits and Cargill Form Strategic Three-Year Partnership

27 Nov 2014 --- United Biscuits (UB), a leading international manufacturer of biscuits, today announces a strategic three-year partnership with Cargill, an international producer of food and agricultural products and services. The agreement means that Cargill’s cocoa & chocolate business will supply all UB’s derived cocoa and chocolate products and will support UB with the delivery to their seven manufacturing facilities across the UK, as well as the four facilities in Northern Europe.

The partnership will also bring together UB’s and Cargill’s respective scientific and technological expertise and industry knowledge. Both companies will work together to investigate new ways to use chocolate more effectively, helping drive continual innovation and growth to bring products to market.

The move reflects UB’s renewed commitment to innovation in the sweet category, as it continues to transform and update its industry offering and deliver winning products. UB’s focus is on uncompromising quality and continual efficiency improvements to reinforce its market leading position. Cargill’s reach across the whole supply chain and their strategically located production facilities, means it can guarantee security of supply of high quality products in time. Moreover, Cargill will also function as the designated partner for contingency circumstances for UB’s chocolate refinery.

Commenting on the announcement, Nina Williams, ‎Group Technical Director at United Biscuits, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with one of the world’s leading sustainable food ingredients providers. Many of our recipes use sustainable chocolate, making a contract of this size vitally important for us.

“Today’s announcement is also strategically significant. As the first partnership of its kind for UB, it will bring a step-change in our growth and competitiveness and deliver significant long-term value. Cargill’s strong sustainability credentials and ambition match the philosophy of our business, and will be a great fit as we continue to grow our presence in the UK and internationally.”

Emiel van Dijk, Sales & Marketing Director at Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate, commented: “Our partnership with United Biscuits not only means we will supply high quality cocoa and chocolate, but also allows us to share our deep cocoa and chocolate expertise and our broad food ingredients knowledge to support UB’s innovation and growth ambitions. We are convinced this long-term, transparent relationship means we will be able create the right solutions for UB even faster and easier.”

United Biscuits (UB) is a leading international biscuit manufacturer whose baking heritage goes back generations, with many recipes passed down since the 1800s. UB bakes some of the best loved sweet and savoury biscuits and cakes that are household names in their respective markets; supported by a strong culture of innovation to continually develop snack brands. Among UB’s popular brand names are McVitie’s, Penguin, go ahead!, McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes, Jacob’s, Jacob’s Cream Crackers, Twiglets, Mini Cheddars and Carr's in the UK, BN, Delacre, Verkade and Sultana in Continental Europe and Haansbro in Nigeria.

As the leading manufacturer and marketer of biscuits in the UK and second largest in the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Ireland, the company owns and operates 16 manufacturing facilities, of which seven are in the UK and has a strong footprint for growth, with products sold in over 130 countries.