Finnebrogue Artisan £20m expansion plan

Finnebrogue Artisan £20m expansion plan

19 February 2020

DOWNPATRICK food producer Finnebrogue Artisan has unveiled ambitious plans for a new 70,000 sq ft factory and 20,000 sq ft warehouse as part of a near £20m investment.

The award-winning firm will build its new factory at its Belfast Road business park base on the outskirts of the town, adjacent to its existing plant.

News of the development comes amid increasing demand, particularly for the local firm’s vegan and vegetarian products, which have grown ten-fold in just three years.

A pre-planning application notice has been submitted by Finnebrogue Artisan to Newry, Mourne and Down Council for the proposed construction of the new food production facility and storage area.

The company was founded in 1996 by Denis Lynn, its majority shareholder and now chairman, who converted the historic Finnebrogue estate to deer production.

The plans for the company’s latest investment will be on public display as part of its pre-planning application information day on Thursday, March 5, between 4pm and 8pm.

Finnebrogue Artisan says its world-beating food innovation has turbo-charged growth in recent years and is now accelerating plans to produce more market-leading plant-based produce.

A company spokesman said: “Consumers are more in tune with the food that they eat than at any point in human history, demanding more nutritious and sustainable products.

“We are determined to bring them the food they deserve, making it the best it can be without being bound by the practices of the past.”

But despite announcing a new dedicated vegan and vegetarian factory three years ago, Finnebrogue is also maintaining its position as a traditional meat supplier.

As well as producing sausage and bacon products both for leading supermarket own-label lines as well under its own brand, it has invested millions in a bacon production facility, where it makes its revolutionary nitrite-free Naked Bacon, launched in 2017.

Finnebrogue currently employs close to 600 staff and this year expects its overall sales to eclipse £115m, about a quarter of which will be from its meat-free products.