Tayto enters popcorn market with latest buy
Northern Irish crisp and snack producer Tayto has bought London-based Tavern Snacks and partly acquired Devonshire business Portlebay Popcorn.
This is the company’s first purchase of a popcorn manufacturer and Tayto has acquired just over 75% of Portlebay, bringing the group’s plant ownership to six. The sale, which was completed last week, comes shortly after the purchase of Tavern Snacks.
According to Tayto, Portlebay was the first company to produce crispy bacon and maple syrup popcorn, which is one of its bestselling lines. Other flavours include chilli and lime and the more traditional lightly salted and sweet and salty. Portlebay supplies stores such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Co-Op and a number of independent retailers, mainly in the south of England.
Tayto CEO, Paul Allen, said, “We are really impressed with the innovation and enthusiasm of the Portlebay team and they make a first class, premium product. While they will continue to run the business independently from Tayto, we shall of course provide access to all the wider Group capabilities and we are looking forward to seeing significant growth.
“The purchase of Tavern has allowed us to diversify both by adding another brand and also by introducing their range of nuts to our portfolio. We are now producing crisps in Tandragee which are being sold under the Tavern name all around London.”
