Jempson’s is launching an own-label frozen ready meal range to boost its manufacturing opportunities.
Speaking at The Grocer Business Lunch this week, MD Stephen Jempson said the new line will build on its chilled ready meal range, which sells over 2,000 products a week.
The independent retailer, which owns nine grocery stores and six cafés and bakeries across East Sussex, also produces pizzas, sandwiches, pasta salads, and wraps at its supermarket in Rye.
“We’ve been building up our manufacturing facilities because we’ve got to be different,” he said. “If we’re going to succeed in this very competitive day and age, we’ve got to offer something that is our own that no one else can compare to.
“Once you build a brand, you can build loyalty and keep customers for life.”
The launch comes as the retailer celebrates its 90th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, Jempson said the business is launching 22 limited-edition products with special birthday branding.
These include sparkling wine, chilli jam, shortbread fingers, chilli peanuts and plum bread. “It’s initiatives like this that encourage shoppers into your bricks & mortar stores,” he added.
Jempson also highlighted its successful year for sales, with total turnover growing by 10.1%, excluding fuel, thanks to the backing of Morrisons.
It switched to Morrisons in 2023 after working with Nisa for over 40 years. He said Nisa had supported Jempson’s “through thick and thin”, but the focus on smaller stores was “degrading its credibility for weekly shops”.
He said volume has since gone “through the roof”, with prices dropping up to 22%.
Performance across the business’s produce category was also in strong growth, he added, with its larger sites in Peasmarsh and Rye growing 39.8% and 31.8% respectively across the category.
“The pricing we’re getting now means we can compete with the multiples,” said Jempson. “Customers resonate with that, we’ve got our credibility back, and I feel so much more confident and safer about the way the business is going and the plans we’ve got for the future.”
No comments yet