Neil Court-Johnston has returned to the pie industry less than six months after being suspended from Hollands by parent company Northern Foods over a management buyout dispute.
The former Hollands MD started this week at rival manufacturer Peter's Group as MD of its foodservice business a new position at the South West-based company.
The appointment reunites the former Kraft and Nestlé executive with MD Mike Grimwood, an ex-Pork Farms colleague.
Speaking to The Grocer, Court-Johnston said his contribution to Peter's would be less about revolution and more about driving foodservice harder and faster. "It's a reunion I'm looking forward to Mike has assembled a strong team that is going places," he said, adding that Peter's commitment to innovation was a key draw.
"As a private business Peter's is totally focused on quality innovation and service, there's no politics or dilly-dallying, it's dynamic and totally customer-focused," he said.
A continued focus for the group would be to maximise availability and reach to revitalise the ageing category, he added. "We want to give customers the very best service so people buy more regularly and spend more. You'll see lots of brand initiatives from us and a much higher profile for Peter's in the UK foodservice market. There are a myriad channels we can use to sell to customers and consumers. It's not just about new sectors but breaking into new channels so social media and online are important areas we want to fully exploit over the coming 12 months."
Peter's Food Service generates £35m to £38m sales a year. The company plans to boost this by between £5m and £6m over the next three years through organic growth and bolt-on acquisitions.
"If acquisitions are available we'd be interested," said Grimwood. "We're pretty strong in Wales, London and the south east so adding strength in Birmingham and the north would be a good fit for us both geographically and for our brand presence."
The former Hollands MD started this week at rival manufacturer Peter's Group as MD of its foodservice business a new position at the South West-based company.
The appointment reunites the former Kraft and Nestlé executive with MD Mike Grimwood, an ex-Pork Farms colleague.
Speaking to The Grocer, Court-Johnston said his contribution to Peter's would be less about revolution and more about driving foodservice harder and faster. "It's a reunion I'm looking forward to Mike has assembled a strong team that is going places," he said, adding that Peter's commitment to innovation was a key draw.
"As a private business Peter's is totally focused on quality innovation and service, there's no politics or dilly-dallying, it's dynamic and totally customer-focused," he said.
A continued focus for the group would be to maximise availability and reach to revitalise the ageing category, he added. "We want to give customers the very best service so people buy more regularly and spend more. You'll see lots of brand initiatives from us and a much higher profile for Peter's in the UK foodservice market. There are a myriad channels we can use to sell to customers and consumers. It's not just about new sectors but breaking into new channels so social media and online are important areas we want to fully exploit over the coming 12 months."
Peter's Food Service generates £35m to £38m sales a year. The company plans to boost this by between £5m and £6m over the next three years through organic growth and bolt-on acquisitions.
"If acquisitions are available we'd be interested," said Grimwood. "We're pretty strong in Wales, London and the south east so adding strength in Birmingham and the north would be a good fit for us both geographically and for our brand presence."
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