Seabrook Crisps' export sales receive boost with new Aldi contract in Australia

Seabrook Crisps, the Bradford-based crisp manufacturer, has secured a new contract to supply discount supermarket chain, Aldi, in Australia.

Winning this new deal means Seabrooks is on target to achieve 4% of its annual £30m turnover in export sales by the end of this financial year.

The contract to supply Aldi, which has built up to 470 stores in Australia after opening its first in 2001, follows similar export deals made by Seabrook with Lulu Hypermarket in the United Arab Emirates (UAE); Monoprix in France; 7-Eleven in China and Hong Kong and French retailer, Carrefour in Spain.

The crisp manufacturer gained strategic export development advice from overseas trade specialist, Chamber International.

Seabrook started planning to export in 2015 after LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, acquired the company for £35m.

Kevin Butterworth, marketing and international sales director, said: “Successful exporting requires long-term commitment.

“Securing the latest retail deal with Aldi in Australia keeps us on target to achieve 4% revenue in exports by April 2018, two years from our first export sale in April 2016, and our medium-term aim to achieve 10% export revenue within five years.

“We wanted to export for some time and the private equity deal injected £4m into upgrading our factory, giving us what we needed in terms of increased capacity, flexibility to provide shorter product runs for international markets and to reinforce packaging to extend shelf life from four to 11 months as the export market requires.

“We engaged with Chamber International from the start and they immediately added value with strategic consultancy by looking at where we wanted to get to and how best to achieve this.

“They also provided crucial overseas contacts, particularly an export development programme in the UAE which enabled us to meet 11 potential buyers in three days and which I could not have achieved under my own steam.”

David Attia, Chamber International senior export adviser, added: “Seabrook has become a model SME exporter by approaching breaking into overseas markets in a systematic and thorough way. Potato crisps are enjoyed all over the world and I’m sure Seabrook can make global exports a significant part of its business.”

Founded in 1945, Seabrook currently has 151 staff at its site in Bradford. Operating profit for the business in 2016 was £3.6m, with a turnover of £27m.

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