Cottage Delight has bought Fosters Foods from its current owner, Moguntia Food Group, in a deal that includes Fosters’ own products and third-party brands. Cottage Delight has expanded its site in Leek, Staffordshire, allowing for Fosters’ production to relocate there from Market Harborough.
Fosters Foods makes its own range of ambient products, as well as gifting and personalised ranges via seven third-party brands: Treat Co, Nature’s Store, Langdale’s, The Boulevard, Spinnaker, John Lusty and Home Recipe Foods.
Cottage Delight’s marketing director Sarah Williams told FFD that Fosters’ broad portfolio makes it ”a perfect fit with Cottage Delight”.
Consolidation will come in time to address overlapping lines, she added.
“There are several similar categories sold under the Fosters Brand and Cottage Delight brand. Providing all those products under two brands does not make business sense and would be confusing for the retailer, and distracting from other commercial opportunities that we can work together on.
“Any consolidation needs to be carefully considered and worked through – that will come in time.”
“Our priority for now is to ensure our supply chain is up and running as quickly as possible, so all of our retail customers can receive their orders on time and in full. We will not achieve this overnight, but it is our primary focus, especially with the important summer months approaching.”
With a view to integrating Fosters’ products into its operations immediately, the new brochure for 2024 is set to launch this month and the Christmas range is in the pipeline.
Fosters’ five regional sales managers have joined the team, and will be selling both brands across the UK.
“So, as a business we have unbeatable sales coverage,” Williams added. “For the trade, that can only be a good thing.”
Retailers should expect little change in placing orders, she said.
“It is business as usual.”
“One of the real strengths of Fosters has been the way they nurtured relationships with their retail customers, and that has been central pillar to Cottage Delight for 50 years.”
“As well as our team on the road, we have our fantastic customer service team based in Leek who customers can contact via email or telephone.”
cottagedelight.co.uk
This article first appeared in the March 2024 edition of Fine Food Digest .
