21st century
In the 21st century, Baxters commenced a strategy of significant expansion by acquiring rival food manufactures in order to double in size and increase annual turnover to in excess of £100 million.[15] Its first acquisition was in July 2001 when Garner Foods Ltd., a producer of a pickles, chutneys and salad dressings was purchased. Garners was established in 1989 and employed 40 people at its base in Pershore, Worcestershire.[16][17]
In 2001, a new 70000 sqft factory for the manufacturing of chilled soups was built for Baxters in Grimsby, northeast Lincolnshire.[18]
CCL Foods PLC was purchased by Baxters in July 2003. The firm employed 50 people at its plant in Earls Colne near Colchester in Essex and produces pickles and condiments under the Mary Berry, Peppadew, Pizza Express, Olivaise and Simply Delicious brands and for supermarkets such as Safeway (now Morrisons) and Waitrose.[15][19] CCL Foods operates as a subsidiary of Baxters and is now known as Baxters (Earls Colne) Ltd.[20]
Norman Soutar was appointed as group managing director in July 2004 and was the first non-member of the Baxter family to lead the company. Soutar had joined Baxters in 2000 as food service director and was later director of corporate strategy.[21] His appointment as group managing director gave him operational management of the business and began a new approach to foreign markets, whereby Baxters sought to establish overseas production facilities rather than relying on exporting goods from the United Kingdom.
Baxter's first overseas takeover was in 2004 when it purchased Canada's largest private label soup manufacturer, Soup-Experts Inc. The Quebec-based company was established in 1975, initially focusing on producing sauce before expanding into private label foods in the 1990s.[22] Soup-Experts became part of the Baxters Canada group.[23]
Baxters launched its flagship range of premium products in 2005 with the creation of the Audrey Baxter Signature Range. The range includes curds, conserves, marmalades, jellies, chutneys and relishes made in small batches. Limited editions are available seasonally.[24][25]
In July 2006, Norman Soutar left Baxters, with executive chairman Audrey Baxter adopting the role of managing director. No reason for Soutar's departure was given, with many staff reportedly unaware until the matter was made public in September 2006, when newspaper reports suggested disagreement over how the firm was being run.[21]
Against a background of poor performance in 2006, with annual profits falling by more than £1 million, Baxters opted to take advantage of lower labour costs by transferring its Garners Foods pickling operation to a 43055 sqft purpose-built factory located in Wolsztyn, Poland.[26] As a result, Garner's factory in Pershore was closed in 2007 with the loss of 23 jobs. Baxters continues to use the Garners brand.[27]
Baxters Food Australia Pty Ltd. was established in 2006 to act as an in-country customer service division for Baxter's growing Australasia market. In April 2008, Baxters acquired Australian food processor Sole Pio Pty, a family company established in 1994 and based in Campbellfield, Melbourne, Victoria.[28] Sole Pio specialised in supplying the catering sector with marinated and flame-grilled vegetables, pestos, and tapenades, under the Bamboleo and Argents Hill brands, both of which Baxters continues to use.[29] Baxters bought Australian firm Andrews Food Distributors in 2010.[30] In an effort to increase Baxter's market share in the Australian retail market, Jensen's Choice Foods was purchased in early 2013. Operating from Huntingdale in Melbourne, Jensen's was founded in 1984 and its product range includes pasta sauces, salsa dips, wet spices, passata, fruit spreads sold under the Jensen's Organic brand and cookie dough under the Aunty Kath's brand. It also manufactures private label brands for major retailers.[31]
Baxters withdrew from the chilled soups sector in 2008 and sold its Grimsby factory to Northern Foods, attributing the move to strong competition in the sector and a desire to focus on more profitable products.[18]
The soups division of Canadian firm CanGro Foods was bought by Baxters in May 2007, transferring into Baxters' Canadian operation, Baxters Canada Inc. The deal saw Baxters acquire the Primo and Aylmer soup brands and more than double its revenue in Canada.[32]
In November 2011, to the surprise of some food manufacturing industry commentators, the company acquired the Fray Bentos range of pies and other canned meat products from Princes Ltd.[33] Princes were forced to sell the brand on competition grounds having acquired it from Premier Foods as part of the purchase of Premier's canned food division.[34] By January 2013, production-line equipment and the manufacturing of Fray Bentos products had been transferred from Long Sutton in Lincolnshire to the Baxters premises in Fochabers. Of the 125 new staff recruited as part of the expansion, 11 transferred from Long Sutton, which according to Baxters helped ensure a smooth transition between the two sites. The production line is accommodated in a two-storey extension to the Fochabers factory and initial production levels were 67,000 tinned pies per week.[33]
Fray Bentos was named after the town of Fray Bentos in Uruguay, from which it originally imported meat into the UK.[35] Fray Bentos was bought by Campbell's in 1993 and sold on to Premier Foods as part of the sale of the US food group's UK assets in 2006. Since the acquisition, Baxters has introduced new products under the Fray Bentos brand, such as soups in August 2012 and instant hot meals (Fray Bentos Hunger Busters) in June 2014.[36][37]
In 2012, Baxters bought Manor Vinegar from their Japanese owners Mizkan Group. The company's manufacturing plant located in Burntwood, Staffordshire was purchased after the then Office of Fair Trading (OFT) raised competition concerns with Mizkan's purchase of the vinegar and pickles division of Premier Foods. The sale to Baxters alleviated the OFT's concerns and reinstated pre-existing levels of competition in the manufacture and supply of vinegars in the United Kingdom.[38][39]
In 2014, Baxters bought Wornick Foods, a military rations manufacturer in the USA.[40]
In January 2018, Baxters moved its headquarters to Edinburgh, though Audrey Baxter described Fochabers as remaining as the company's "spiritual home".[41] Choosing to focus on US, European and Australian markets, Baxters sold its Canadian businesses, Baxters Canada Inc, in 2018.[42]
