Tayto Group Buys Portlebay Popcorn – the UK’s premium popcorn maker
Tayto Group has acquired a majority stake holding in Devon-based popcorn maker, Portlebay Popcorn, for an undisclosed sum.
The popcorn company had suffered difficult trading and has recently gone into administration. Shortly thereafter, Tayto and two of the founding shareholders, Jonty White and Neil Adams, acquired the trade and assets from the administrator. The business will be run independently from Tayto although it will have access to the wider group capabilities and know-how.
Portlebay Popcorn is handmade at the Poppery in Devon and is sold in a number of independent retailers as well as multiples such as Tesco, Boots, Sainsbury’s and Budgens. It produces a wide variety of standard and more exotic-flavoured popcorns including the company’s signature crispy bacon and maple syrup flavour.
Tayto CEO, Paul Allen, said, “This is great investment for us, popcorn is a growing market and Portlebay is a great, premium product. We are also delighted that all the staff, including founders Jonty White and Neil Adams, will be staying on and will continue to run the business. It is a fantastic opportunity for us to combine our many years of experience and some investment with their exuberance and innovation but, for now, we just want to provide some stability and security for both staff and customers. We are in the process of putting together a plan for how we are going to develop Portlebay and will be sharing that with the trade in the near future, so watch this space.”
Tayto is owned by Tayto Group Ltd, which is the country’s biggest indigenous crisp and snack manufacturer, producing five million bags a day across its five UK sites. The company remains family-owned and its headquarters are in Co Armagh, Northern Ireland. Its portfolio also includes Golden Wonder, Mr Porky, REAL Crisps, Jonathan Crisp and Tayto.
