Invest Northamptonshire

Sectors

Food and Drink

Food and drink is one of the UK's most dynamic manufacturing sectors and is worth £70bn. As competition within the industry increases, successful companies are those diversifying, innovating and addressing the key growth areas of convenience and health, while staying abreast of regulatory issues.

Northamptonshire's location gives ease of access to both retailers and Regional Distribution Centres, cutting transport costs and exploiting established distribution networks. With 95% of the UK's population within a 4.5 hour drive-time, Northamptonshire is the optimum location from which to serve British customers. The county is at the heart of "The Golden Triangle" of national logistics and regional distribution centres used by companies such as Tesco, Coca Cola Enterprises Ltd, Morrison and other major retailers. Birmingham and London are a short drive away and there are fast, direct road and rail links to primary UK ports. Easy connections to leading UK freight and passenger airports, provide access to the European food distribution network.

Northamptonshire is home to a dense concentration of specialised food and drink packaging and distribution companies employing the latest in smart packaging technologies and RFID. Some of the world's strongest food and drink brands operate from Northamptonshire. Companies like Granovita have chosen the county as their UK headquarters, local businesses like Weetabix have become world beaters, and greenfield investors such as Alpro are undergoing rapid growth.

People working in Food and Drink

• Alk Brand, Chief Executive Officer

• Milan Shah, Director

• Steve Chinn, Senior Plant Manager

• Kaarin Goodburn, Secretary Gerneral

• Gareth Roberts, Head of Sponsorship and Media Relations