Swizzels expansion plans backed by renewal of sustainable pallet logistics deal
UK confectionery manufacturer Swizzels, renowned for its traditional favourite Love Hearts sweets, has extended its collaboration with Coventry-based IPP, for logistics supply of sustainable wooden pallets, amid wider expansion of the business.
The Derbyshire-based company, one of the longest established firms in the sector, continues to expand its production capability with plans for a new factory close to its existing site, which will focus upon its future growth and range diversification.
Established in 1928, the business, behind the famous brand of candy sweets with love messages as well as Parma Violets and Drumsticks, recently introduced its chewable range of Squashies and Puds which have also become family favourites more than 90 years later.
The family-owned company at New Mills in the High Peak, which produces 1.2 million sweets per day, has been the subject of TV documentaries Inside the Factory, with Masterchef presenter Gregg Wallace and ITV’s Inside Britain’s Food Factories.
Employing more than 600 people, Swizzels delivers its products to the UK’s supermarkets, wholesalers and sweet shops on tens of thousands of IPP pooled pallets which are retrieved, repaired, repatriated and re-cycled as part of the growing trend towards a more sustainable circular economy.
IPP utilises its ‘One Way Trip’ solution, which streamlines the process by collecting the empty pallets from Swizzels’ end customers, including all of the major multiple retailers, cash and carry businesses and smaller confectioners – repairing them where necessary and seamlessly reintroducing them into the cycle.
The new factory investment will have a significant impact on the Swizzels supply chain, which stretches across the UK from locations in Derbyshire and Cheshire. IPP’s pooling model helps the business manage its major seasonal hikes such as Hallowe’en and Christmas where sales can more than double.
The company’s relationship with IPP, which dates back to 2009, is based upon transparency and service.
Nigel Wanford, supply chain Manager for Swizzels, said: “There are major plans for a new factory at the New Mills site, where our annual production is set to increase significantly.
“IPP has worked with us step-by-step over the last 11 years and we have extended the contract because we work well as a team focussed on shared values and goals, including quality and service.
“We need to be assured 24/7 that pallets are in the best condition and, critically, there when we need them, as our requirement increases in line with seasonal spikes.”
Phil Storer, UK country director for IPP, added: “It’s easy to develop a sweet tooth when you work with a business like Swizzels. Like Love Hearts, our relationship is based upon partnership and clear messaging that has become even stronger over the last 11 years.”
