Bright Blue Foods

Mince pies mean Christmas. They represent festive cheer, good tidings, and cosy winter evenings. But when you take a bite out of your luxury, deep-filled, crumbly-pastried treat, do you stop to think about where it was made? Perhaps not. But chances are it was lovingly crafted by Bright Blue Foods, the UK’s leading premium mince pie manufacturer supplying over 115 million mince pies to the vast majority of Britain’s supermarkets.

In fact, they make so much more and with broad production capabilities including celebration cakes, crumbles, and pies, it’s very likely you’ll have sampled a sweet treat of theirs somewhere along the way. However, things were not always so bright for Bright Blue Foods and after a challenging Christmas period in 2014, the business needed overcome cash flow difficulties and rebuild trust with suppliers.
 

What did the business need?

That’s when Endless LLP got involved, seeing a business that, despite problems, had fantastic foundations for success. Moving quickly, they invested in the business in less than 10 days from first meeting Management Endless stabilised the business, bringing the finances back to an even keel and saving close to 1000 jobs. Then, some process simplification, changes to management and improvements on the factory floor got things running smoothly again. From here, BBF moved from strength to strength. In 2018 they bought the cake and dessert division of Greencore PLC and doubled the size of the business, bringing many new employees on board as well as lots of new products.
 

What lasting value did PE/VC investment bring?

The business has grown from revenue of £58million in 2015 to £160million in 2020. Now, not even a pandemic can get in BBF’s way with the business continuing to grow profitability throughout 2020. They kept their employees safe and, in turn, they kept the nation’s sweet tooth satisfied. And things show no signs of slowing down in 2021. With plenty of new cakes and desserts in development, you’ll soon by seeing more of their delicious creations on the shelves.