Seabook Crisps turnover soars to £27M

Operating profit soared from £1.6M to £2.6M in the year to March 29 2015, according to the latest accounts filed with Companies House.

The crisp maker had responded positively to increasingly aggressive price promotions by retailers and the rise of the discounters, according to Seabrook Crisps ceo Jonathan Bye.

‘Changing retailer needs’

“Our agility and responsiveness to changing retailer needs meant we were able to align ourselves to their evolving strategy, creating a competitive advantage,” he said.

“We expect this tough trading environment to remain and therefore we will continue to drive cost and operational efficiencies throughout the business to underpin our profitability.”   

Bye said the company’s new products – including Lattice, Straight Cut and Seabrook Originals crisps – had appealed to consumers.

‘Tough trading environment’

“Therefore, despite the continued tough trading environment within which we operate, we remain confident that we can continue to build on our success in the year ahead,” he said.  

The recent growth follows a full-scale turnaround launched by Bye who joined the business in 2012. When the former Vimto boss took over the firm, it had just posted a loss of £1.8M as a result of unsustainable promotional tactics.

Read our feature with Bye, published in 2013, to find out about his initial growth strategy. Bye also introduced a new lattice-cut crisp that generated an extra £3M in sales.

As a result of Seabrook’s recent growth it secured a management buyout of £35M, with private equity firm LDC now owning a majority stake in this business.