Black Puddings will be being eaten in Spain, the US and Hong Kong following a £1.4 million investment programme by a Bury Company
The Bury Black Pudding Company currently produces 35 tonnes of black pudding a week from its Bridgehall Lane premises in the town, but will have capacity to double that following the investment programme as well as creating twenty new jobs as it attempts to double its turnover over the next two years
The Company was founded in 2002 by Debbie Pierce and Richard Morris, who initially sold black puddings derived from Richard’s father’s recipe on a Bury market stall. The pair spotted the opportunity to develop a branded product and started selling the products online.
It now generates 80% of its £3 million turnover from the UK’s major supermarkets, including Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose, Asda, Morrisons, The Co-operative and Iceland, and is targeting growth in the food service market, as well as overseas. The new launch is part of a new export strategy, targeting not only the UK ex-pat communities, but also local taste buds.
Managing Director Debbie Pierce said: “The investment will drive the expansion of the business. Not only will we be able to produce more product, it means we can develop new product lines, such as gluten free and chilli flavour, we can also produce different pack sizes, as well as frozen products, which will open up more opportunities in the food service sector.”
She added: “We are particularly excited about the overseas opportunities. We know that black pudding is popular with ex-pats but we are also confident that it will appeal to local palates. We have received enquiries from overseas for a number of years but have been unable to produce enough black pudding to satisfy demand.”
Black Puddings first arrived in the UK via European monks, who named the product “bloodwurst”. They first visited Yorkshire before making the trip over the pennines to Lancashire where this wonderful product became known as “Black Pudding”.
