United Kingdom-based Star Feast Foods’ new 3,000-square-foot Canary Wharf facility is open and ready to serve the company’s growing London customer base, according to a report from Express and Stars.
The company recently invested EUR 200,000 (USD 227,000) into its wholesale operation, installing a new trade counter and state-of-the-art freezer/chilling technology. Two delivery vans and a fully-branded tuk-tuk sourced from India were also purchased in the process of enhancing Star Feast Food operations at the Wharf.
The expansion, which included the creation of four new jobs, could potentially deliver up to EUR 3 million (USD 3.4 million) in new sales over the course of the next year, according to Star Feast Foods.
“This is a very exciting move for the business and reflects a growing appetite from across the U.K. for our own sustainable shrimp, as well as other seafood and poultry lines,” explained Mohammed Khan, business development manager at Star Feast Foods, to Express and Star. “We have always supplied into U.K. supermarkets and some restaurants in the South East, but felt the time was right to create a dedicated base locally that could meet growing demand and provide a trade counter offer.”
“The EUR 200,000 investment gives us a prime location in London and enough space to stock as many products as our headquarters in the West Midlands,” Khan said. “The benefit being we can now supply our customers in a few hours whilst offering the general public the chance to buy great-tasting shrimp and a wide range of other seafood and poultry over the counter in small quantities.”
Star Agro Marine, the parent company of Star Feast Foods, has also found success as of late, hitting the EUR 9 million (USD 10.2 million) turnover barrier for the first time, representing a 30 percent increase in sales compared to the previous year.
Star Feast Foods has received backing by a marketing campaign and increased production capabilities, said the Express and Star, which has allowed the business to close deals and partnerships with a series of high street retailers and wholesalers. An increasing number of Asian restaurants have also been reaching out for the company’s service, looking to use its products in recipes and dishes.
“Moving into London and South East market is a natural stage in our development and the next step in us achieving EUR 15 million (USD 19.4 million) sales by the end of 2018,” said Steve Money, the company’s managing director, to the newspaper.“We’ve also got some exciting plans to increase our range to more than 50 different seafood, poultry and dried goods products."
