Member Article

EHL Ingredients sets sights on £7m sales target

EHL Ingredients is restructuring its management board with founder Emma Haq taking on the role of Chairman and Tasneem Backhouse and Naseem Ul-Haq becoming joint managing directors. Christine Peers will become sales director and new recruit, Kim Hooson, steps into the national sales manager position.

Last year, the company achieved year-end sales of £5.8 million, aiming to reach £7 million by the end of 2016, it’s twentieth year of operation, marking a successful 12 months for the food ingredients supplier with further growth, expansion and product development planned.

Previously, Emma was managing director, Tasneem was sales and marketing director, Naseem was financial director and Christine was sales manager. Kim joins the company from House of Flavours, Gloucestershire and will lead the new business drive, targeting food manufacturers, wholesalers, caterers and retailers around the UK.

EHL has witnessed a notable increase in demand for its ingredient blends. It also launched eight new organic herb and spice mixes and marinades, as well as two new gluten-free ingredients – ground cumin and coriander – with more in the pipeline. The product development team is working on more new ingredient blends, including bespoke, as well as organic and free-from products to tap into these burgeoning markets. It will also target the catering and foodservice sector with new formats launching soon.

The company is planning further growth and expansion as well as celebrations to mark its twentieth anniversary later this year.

Managing director, Tasneem Backhouse, says: “The revised management structure will give the business new direction as we aim for our highest sales targets to date and celebrate our twentieth year in operation. Over the last two decades, we have become strong in certain areas of the food industry and have a loyal base of customers. Now, we want to really bolster our position within organic, free-from foods and the catering sector.

“Our new organic ingredient blends have had very positive feedback so far and we will be continuing to push this side of the business, especially over the summer BBQ season and in the run up to Christmas.

“We’re proud to be celebrating our twentieth year in businesses this year and would like to thank all our customers, suppliers, partners and employees for supporting us. Some of our longest standing customers have been with us for 20 years, which is testament to the quality of our products and the reliability of our service. We look forward to continuing these strong partnerships and building new ones as the business grows.

“We put our success and stability down to several key factors; our responsiveness to customer demand and consumer trends, a strong sales team, quality organic, free-from and conventional products, and our bespoke on-site blending capabilities. Our new product development team, technical expertise, reliable service and our positive profile in the food industry press also contribute towards our business growth and will continue to do so. We are confident about our progress as a business and are proud of our achievements in this highly competitive market place.”

EHL currently employs 30 staff and is based on the Broadstone Industrial Estate in Reddish.

The company supplies around 300 food ingredients and boasts a 200-strong organic range as well as over 70 custom blends. EHL Ingredients’ products are sold into the food manufacturing, wholesale, retail and catering sectors and used in end products, such as breads and bakery items, ready meals, healthy snacks and soups and sauces. They are also sold to speciality food shops, delis and organic retailers across the UK.

The company was awarded its fifth grade A BRC certification once again in December last year. This gives EHL’s customers the reassurance of the company’s quality and safety management processes and opens up new growth opportunities for the business.

To find out more about EHL Ingredients, visit www.ehl-ingredients.co.uk, email info@ehl-ingredients.co.uk or call 0161 480 7902.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Rebecca Ore .