Member Article

Bradford food business celebrates more than doubling export in just five years

Regal Food Products Group, a Bradford-based food manufacturer which initially developed products for the local Asian market in the UK, has seen its export revenues more than double since 2016, with the company now selling products in over 40 countries.

Established in 2001 by a local Bradford family which continues to run the company, Regal Foods started as a family baking business providing a small range of South Asian products to Asian consumers in West Yorkshire via local convenience stores, before moving into small grocery retailers. In 2008, it began exporting to Europe and, with demand for its goods growing from consumers around the world, in 2019, it expanded its export operations into Northern America.

The company has continued to invest in its facilities, establishing a number of manufacturing sites in Bradford, as well as a distribution centre and an online store. It has expanded to provide almost 400 different product lines under a number of brands, including its ‘Regal Foods’ and ‘Yorkshire Bakery’ brands, covering baked goods, confectionery and drinks products. The multi-million-pound turnover company now employs around 200 people and supplies over 3,000 small retail outlets as well as all of the large supermarket chains.

Supplying consumers around the world with Asian-inspired products, Regal Foods has been supported on its export growth journey by intellectual property experts at Clarion. The Leeds law firm’s IP team has advised the business for the last nine years, helping to protect its trade mark portfolios across a number of jurisdictions, including the UK, Europe, the US and Canada. The company also exports to the Far East, Africa and the Middle East.

Faz Ali, group sales marketing director, comments: “The business started from humble beginnings, serving Asian corner shops in Bradford, but our growth over the last 20 years has been phenomenal. We are immensely proud of what we have achieved, not only with the huge popularity of our ranges in Asian communities, but also reaching beyond this and taking our products to a diverse selection of markets within the UK and worldwide. We remain very much a family business and have never lost sight of our strong values, working hard to look after our team and local communities.

“Looking beyond Britain has been vital to our success, with ‘Made in the UK’ having huge value and being recognised and respected throughout the world. We expect our export operations to continue to flourish and, while I would encourage other Yorkshire business to be brave and explore the export opportunities, it does take careful planning and expert advice to mitigate the risks. We have been fortunate to have the expertise of Clarion’s IP team working alongside us on our export journey, helping us to protect the brands and products we have carefully created as we have ventured into new territories.”

Sarah Molloy, senior associate at Clarion, adds: “Congratulations to Regal Foods on achieving this fantastic export growth as it celebrates 20 years in business. We’re pleased to have supported the company’s success internationally over the years and would urge other Yorkshire exporters to follow Regal Foods’ example and ensure that their intellectual property is rigorously protected wherever they operate.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Emma Kilmurray .