Hull based global food supplier sews seeds with plant-based acquisition

Hull based Tuber Group has acquired plant-based convenience foods manufacturer Saxon Foods in Scunthorpe from the Abbeydale Food Group, for an undisclosed sum.

Having acquired Country Chef in 2011 and renamed it Saxon Foods, Abbeydale Food Group has developed it from a B2B business serving food manufacturers into a provider of added value frozen vegetables, supplying many UK supermarkets and wholesalers as well as the food service market.

Saxon Foods is based in Scunthorpe and employs an 80-strong team. The transaction, which was completed on November 5 2021, broadens Tuber Group’s offering. Based in Hessle, the company was founded in 2017 by Steven Humphrey to supply potatoes to food processors and packers in the UK.

Tuber procures a wide range of fresh and frozen produce for food processors and food service businesses worldwide. The group operates in the UK, Spain, Egypt, Asia, USA and Africa.

It supplies over 30 different fresh and frozen food commodities at any one time, ranging from its own brand ‘Chefs Best’ mayonnaise to potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and citrus.

Steven Humphrey, managing director of Tuber Group, comments: “Having started as a potato supplier, in recent years we have expanded our offering to include a diverse selection of fresh and frozen produce.

“The acquisition of Saxon Foods is a great opportunity to build on the good work Abbeydale Food Group has done with the business and the fantastic team it has established.

“We aim to double the current turnover within three years and, after achieving this, we will have established a sizable operation that will be buying in excess of 250 tonnes of fresh potatoes and 150 tonnes of sweet potatoes every week.”

Andrew Hayes, managing director of Abbeydale Food Group, explains: “After being part of Abbeydale for the last 10 years, we believe that Tuber Group is a natural home for Saxon, enabling the business to gain from the group’s purchasing benefits.

“The new owner also has some exciting plans to build on Saxon’s success and take it to the next stage in its development. The sale will also allow Abbeydale to focus on developing other parts of the group, including our Summit Foods business which has already doubled in the last 24 months.”