Sweetdreams expands production facilities
UK chocolatier Sweetdreams has delivered a major £600,000 expansion of its recently developed production facilities in Northumberland.
The company recently launched a 25,000sq ft factory, which has also included investing in a new coating and panning line.
As the business revealed, the facilities are housed in a specialised unit allowing for controlled climate and humidity, which has enabled the firm to offer products including milk chocolate, plain chocolate, yoghurt, souring and coat anything from fudge, fruits, nuts and sugar confectionery for bulk supply or inclusions.
According to the business, its investment will allow it to meet rising demand for niche products, which includes working on a wide range of new product development including functional protein foods, a range of vegan marshmallows and dairy free products as well as high end confectionery sweets.
Matt Stephenson, owner and managing director of Sweetdreams, said: “We introduced panning and coating as a new business to business service in January 2018 and it has already had a direct impact on our company performance.
“Our in-house team of experts work alongside clients to develop unique coated products, and technically engineer bespoke panning solutions, enabling them to expand their product ranges and meet customer demand for new and unusual tastes and textures as well as delivering traditional innovation and service for all their coating and panning needs.”
The company confirmed that six months into its financial year, it has already seen an impressive double-digit growth on last year’s revenue, citing the new panning and coating technology as the core driver for the rise. This follows the substantial company growth seen in the previous two years as the business started to accelerate its plans.
As the company explained, it believed one of the keys elements of its performance lies in its small, dynamic and flexible team of staff who provide the operational support structure required.
The factory’s upgrade and implementation of new state of the art production technology has also been accompanied by recruitment across the business, including four new senior leadership roles.
