Manilife is bringing production in-house after investing more than £1m in its own factory as the nut butter challenger sets itself up for future innovation and growth.
The new 13,500 sq ft site in Derbyshire – set to start production in the first quarter of 2025 – has capacity to store up to six billion peanuts, equating to 15 million jars of peanut butter, The Grocer can reveal.
Manilife raised £500k to fund the move, with the majority coming from existing backers, according to filings at Companies House.
The B Corp brand, founded by Stuart Macdonald in 2015, said the factory would support growth in the UK and internationally in both retail and foodservice, with a location in the Midlands helping with efficient distribution across the UK.
It added the facility, which is expected to create 10 jobs initially, had also been designed specifically to deliver ManiLife’s signature, small-batch, craft nut butter at scale.
“ManiLife is currently the UK’s fastest-growing peanut butter brand, and this new facility is a significant step in our journey as we gear up for further growth in the UK and internationally,” said managing director Jonny Bullivant.
“The facility has been designed to enable our small-batch production, which is crucial, as it’s what makes our nut butters so premium and delicious and why our consumers love it.”
The move follows “a very successful year” for the brand, in which it expanded distribution with a nationwide listing in Tesco and extended its offering into almond butter.
Revenues are forecast to increase 45% in the current financial year to £6.1m, the business added. And retail sales value is up by 54.7% this year, according to category data [NIQ 52 w/e 5 October 2024]. Growth accelerated to 71% in the latest half year [NIQ 26 w/e 5 October 2024].
Last month, ManiLife also launched its first brand marketing campaign, ‘Nuts so Fancy’, in OOH locations across London.
The brand is currently sold at Tesco, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Whole Foods Market, Planet Organic, Holland & Barrett and Booths.
It has raised £2.5m across four rounds of crowdfunding, supported by more than 1,000 crowd backers and angel investors.
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