Unilever has completed the £40m five-year transformation of its largest UK food factory in Burton which brings production of its full UK condiments business into one specialist hub.

The investment aims to support the continued growth of the FMCG giant’s food business in the UK, as 99% of products made at Unilever’s Burton site are distributed to UK retailers.

The transformation project will drive supply chain efficiencies, boost capabilities and deliver a significant uplift in production at the site.

A second factory has been built alongside the existing factory, increasing the site’s footprint by 50% to 31,000sqm and bringing production of Hellmann’s alongside Marmite, Bovril and Colman’s.

Unilever said that investment in digital capabilities has created a “highly optimised” site across the two food factories and nine production lines, doubling volume alongside a 13% increase in total factory efficiency at the site in the last three years. 

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With the final investment of the transformation complete this year on a new Hellmann’s production line, the group said that 2024 is set to be a “record year” as the Burton factory produces an average of nine million jars and bottles of condiments a month.

Unilever UK and Ireland foods lead Andre Burger said: “The investment in our Burton site and new factory reaffirms the site as a key food hub for British produce, making delicious condiments that are helping to create meals in homes up and down the country every day.

“By bringing all our condiment production under one roof and focusing on advancing digital capabilities, we’ve really optimised our supply chain and manufacturing whilst significantly increasing the site’s capacity.

“The investment has already delivered record breaking growth for the site and will be key in supporting the continued growth of our food business and market leading brands here in the UK.”

In addition to boosting productivity, the investment has accelerated the reduction of the environmental footprint of the site, with the increased use of real-time data analysis having helped to halve the site’s food waste since 2021.

The remaining waste has been redistributed in several ways, including creating energy for the factory via an on-site biogas recycling plant, and as feed for local farm animals.