RBS SUPPORTS NEW POPCORN BRAND
Barnsley, 24 April 2008 – Barnsley based popcorn manufacturer Cornscape, has launched a new product and increased its production line in a deal funded by Lombard, RBS IF and The Royal Bank of Scotland’s ("RBS") Commercial Banking team.
Available in sweet, toffee, salt and premium popcorn, Crazy Maize has come off the back of extensive consumer research which highlighted that the premium market in snacks is continuing to grow and Cornscape has led this development in the popcorn category.
The increase in its production line will enable Cornscape to double its production from its state of the art accredited food production and warehouse facility in South Yorkshire which services the whole of the UK. The £150,000 investment in machinery will see 1,500 kilos of popcorn produced everyday and distributed across the UK and Ireland improving the efficiencies of their manufacturing process and enabling them to compete for larger-volume contracts.
Cornscape was founded in 2006 by Steve Seddon who has 20 years experience in the popcorn industry having previously owned popcorn company Kernels, which was acquired by Cadbury’s Butterkist brand in 2002, and he later went on to brand manage. After noticing a gap in the market for ‘own label’ popcorn at high street supermarkets in mainland UK, he decided to create Cornscape to fulfil these orders in the UK and to exploit other markets including cinemas and high street video rental outlets. It is managed and supported by professionals experienced in food manufacturing; especially the popcorn category. Customers include Sainsbury’s, Blockbusters and City Screen, the largest UK independent cinema group.
Steve Seddon, Managing Director of Cornscape, said:
"We are very excited by this new product and the launch, it is the culmination of months of hard work and extensive research and we have already received a positive response from the market place. The increase in machinery is also a great boost for the company and will enable us to meet our expansion plans. Our aim to become the market leader and as the business grows it’s essential to have the right funds in place to support our expansion plans. We are very grateful to the RBS Group for their continued support."
The deal was put together by Jonathan Plaxton from Lombard, Matthew Brown from RBS IF and Neil Smith from the Commercial Banking Team in Doncaster.
Commenting on the deal, Jonathan Plaxton, Senior Relationship Manager at Lombard, said:
"We have been very impressed with Steve and his undoubted passion for popcorn. The new product is testament to this and will add to an already very successful business and we are very happy to support them.
ENDS...
For further information please contact
Emmeline Palombo
Media Manager, The Royal Bank of Scotland
Tel: +44 (0) 113 307 8426
Email: emmeline.palombo@rbs.co.uk
Notes to Editors
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group ("RBS Group") is one of the world's leading financial services companies providing a range of retail and corporate banking, financial markets, consumer finance, insurance, and wealth management services. RBS Group operates in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific serving more than 36 million personal customers world-wide and employing more than 140,000 people. In addition to the provision of a full range of banking services under The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest brands, RBS Group also includes Citizens Financial Group, Ulster Bank, Coutts Group, Direct Line and Churchill.
ENDS...
