Northern Foods ‘strong’ in third quarter

Two years ago, Northern Foods was reliant on Marks & Spencer for much of its business, as it supplied the high street chain with its own-label products.

Discount outlets such as Aldi, Lidl and Netto now account for 20% of its sales, compared with very little business two years ago. In contrast, M&S used to generate a third of sales but now makes up 25% of business.

Stefan Barden, chief executive of Northern Foods, said: “Our key Christmas trading period has been delivered effectively and we continue to respond to the recessionary environment with new, value ranges alongside our traditional premium products.

“Northern Foods is now a different company than two years ago. It’s both financially and operationally stronger. While we share the market uncertainty over consumer spending going forward into 2009, this seems to be less pronounced in food than other sectors. We remain confident of maintaining our steady progress and meeting current market expectations for the full financial year.”

A spokesman said M&S was still an important customer, but that the company was “doing more and more with discounters”. The sector has grown in recent months as the downturn in consumer spending causes shoppers to trade down.