By Karen Peattie
ONE of the UK’s major logistics providers, Menzies Distribution, has fought off competition to secure a five-year contract with Burts Snacks, a Devon-based producer of handmade potato crisps and premium snack products.
Menzies, which this summer opened a new distribution centre in Elgin, Moray, won the “substantial” contract following a competitive tender. The firm, which will distribute Burts’ products to two major supermarkets initially from third-party warehouses and to a range of national customers direct from the snack manufacturer’s Leicester factory, will add new vehicles to its fleet to service the new business.
The new operation will run seven days a week, with spikes in demand handled by Menzies’ nationwide network of 4,200 vehicle assets.
Andy Coxon, business development director at Menzies, described the contract as an “important new collaboration”, adding: “This underlines our credentials as a go-to supply chain partner in the food sector, whether a customer is a global corporation or a niche producer.
“Food manufacturers are central to our business and our wider ability to tailor logistics solutions to individual business needs. We have long-established partnerships with several multinational and domestic food manufacturing and finished goods providers that serve the UK retail and non-retail sectors.”
Mr Coxon noted that Menzies’ particular specialisms in ingredients and packaging “allow the fleet to deliver core products to manufacturers, as well as collecting finished goods”. He said: “We are therefore able to develop cost-effective solutions that reduce site fleet movements and deliver environmental benefits.”
Menzies, which has an existing relationship with Burts Snacks collecting product manufactured by the company on behalf of Propercorn, was acquired by private equity investor Endless LLP in 2018 as part of the business’s separation from Edinburgh-based John Menzies plc.
Burts Snacks’ managing director Dave McNulty said: “Menzies demonstrated a clear understanding of our business’s operational requirements, as well as the potential to drive continuous improvement through new initiatives during the course of the contract.”
The manufacturer, a leading independent operator in the UK premium snacking sector with annual sales in excess of £60 million, has facilities in Plymouth and Leicester.
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