Northumberland confectioner Sweetdreams is set for significant growth after being snapped up by a national food firm.
Cramlington-based Sweetdreams has been trading for more than 30 years and is best known for its Choc Nibbles range – sweets made from chocolate, caramel, biscuits and icing sugar which are sold online and in retailers including B&M and Aldi. The company has now caught the eye of Surrey based SugaRich, a leader in former foodstuff processing, which sees it save surplus food from going to waste, instead turning it into animal feed.
SugaRich is now keen to expand its offering to the food sector, prompting the strategic acquisition of the North East business. Managing director Alex Keogh said the deal underscores his company’s dedication to preventing surplus food products from going to waste.
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He said: “Our collaboration with Sweetdreams is a key step in SugaRich’s evolution. It was a strategic decision for us to marry our skills and attributes not only to progress our market position in the food sector, but to also expand on the clearly obvious potential of Sweetdreams’ innovative offering.
“Furthermore, Sweetdreams’ re-use of surplus food clearly aligns with SugaRich’s established practice and ethos; this now positions us to allow our many suppliers to take advantage of recycling their offcuts and surplus into high quality confectionery products that are affordable and sustainable.”
Mr Keogh said SugaRich wants to cultivate collaborations that support the elimination of food waste, raise the profile of its products and re-use surplus foods in the most sustainable manner.
He added that the acquisition accelerates SugaRich’s plan to sell products for people as well as animals, with Sweetdreams adding an extra dimension with an already thriving business, product and established customer base.
Matt Stephenson, managing director of Sweetdreams, who runs the business on the Admiral Business Park with his wife Cathy, added: “This is an exciting time for Sweetdreams and our fantastic brand Choc Nibbles. Becoming part of the SugaRich family allows us to release the full potential of our range of products, offer our suppliers a unique and innovative solution to reduce surplus food waste, while benefiting from a significant increase in commercial return.
“Alex and his team have seen the fantastic work that Sweetdreams has achieved as an independent confectionery manufacturer. SugaRich’s acquisition will allow us the financial and operational support to make Choc Nibbles the number one, value chocolate confectionery range in the UK and beyond.”
