Marlow Foods, the owner of meat-free brands Quorn and Cauldron, has published its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2023.
The company saw its revenue decrease by 6.9% to £204.9 million. It attributed this to a decline in the meat alternatives category in retail across the UK and US markets, driven by the cost of living crisis.
Headquartered in Yorkshire, UK, Marlow Foods is owned by parent company Monde Nissin Corporation, a major international food business based in the Philippines. Marlow manufactures, distributes and sells Quorn branded products in the UK, Europe, Australia, South East Asia and the US, as well as Cauldron branded products in the UK.
According to Marlow’s report, inflationary pressures had a ‘major impact’ on the company last year amid the significant rising costs of energy and various commodities.
The alt-meat maker responded to such pressures by restructuring its operations in the UK, including reducing roles in UK retail, supply chain and R&D, while in the US it scaled back operations with the exit of several foodservice and retail customers, significantly reduced marketing investment and reduced roles.
It suffered pre-tax losses of £63 million, recording an annual operating loss of £57.6m after tax.
Retail sales saw an 8.6% decrease to £170.7 million, however the company said it continued to make progress on innovation within this category despite the challenging market conditions. Circana data showed the group grew its retail market share by 0.7% to 32.2%, while an annual survey informed by the UK’s top six retailers ranked Quorn as the number one supplier in chilled meat-free, and number three in frozen meat-free.
In foodservice, sales grew by 4.7% in value from £26.6 million to £27.9 million. The company’s foodservice division, QuornPro, was recently revamped to showcase a new brand identity. The division distributes and sells Quorn products to customers serving the out-of-home market.
Marlow Foods also established Marlow Ingredients in 2023, a division focused on the distribution and sales of mycoprotein ingredients to businesses within the food industry.
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