Over the past twelve months, Prima Foods UK Ltd, the UK’s largest suet manufacturer, has completed a £1.5 million investment at its Llanelli cooking plant.
The investment has increased capacity threefold at the site, which manufactures cooked, individually quick frozen (IQF) meal components and toppings for the ready-meal sector.
The expanded facility now enables Prima Foods to manufacture, cook and freeze over one million dumplings and meal components per week, supported by a 250-pallet cold store servicing customers across the UK.
Expanding Capacity for Suet Dumplings and Meal Components
The increased capacity at the Llanelli facility allows Prima Foods to respond to growing demand from the ready-meal, foodservice and retail sectors, with improved flexibility across production, freezing and storage.
The addition of the on-site cold store supports efficient nationwide distribution of cooked frozen and IQF components, ensuring consistent supply at scale.
Investment in Plant, Equipment and Infrastructure
Managing Director Peter Rice explained how the investment underpins long-term growth:
“Because investment has been made into both plant and equipment, alongside bricks and mortar, the investment has allowed us to increase flexibility, capacity and product range. This will be the foundation of our growth over the next three years.”
He added:
“We are grateful for the continued support from the Welsh Government through the FBAS grant, without which the project would not have been possible.”
New Suet-Based Products and Cooked Components for 2026
Prima Foods plans to grow turnover from £8 million to £12 million by building on established relationships within the ready-meals sector while developing new products aimed at foodservice and retail customers.
Head of Innovation Massimo Scotti commented:
“We launched our new range of products at Blas Cymru in October, and products such as sourdough cheese bites, savoury crumb and sweet suet pudding bites have received a lot of interest from both ready-meal manufacturers and foodservice operators looking ahead to 2026.”
The purchase of a new bakery oven and bakery extruders have expanded Prima Foods’ capabilities further, enabling the development of cooked potato toppings, pudding products and cake-based components. Plant trials and new flavour development are now underway following the completion of the investment.
Working With a Leading UK Suet Manufacturer
Prima Foods welcomes enquiries for cooked, frozen meal components ranging from 20g to 200g, including suet dumplings and bespoke suet-based products.
More information on the product range is available at www.primafoods.co.uk under Products, or by contacting the team directly to speak with Peter Rice or Massimo Scotti about product development, trials or supply opportunities.
