Cool move: Albert Bartlett ventures into chilled potato market; set to open new production plant

Albert Bartlett, based in Scotland, is venturing further into the prepared potato market with the development of several chilled potato products. Having already entered the frozen potato market in 2015, the potato supplier is now set to open a new chilled plant at the company headquarters in Airdrie in September. Creating 50 new jobs, the factory will have capability to process 50,000t of potatoes for sale at retail and foodservice. This equates to roughly a third of the current total prepared market. Albert Bartlett confirmed it had already won a three-year contract with one of the big four supermarkets for its new range, but preferred not to specify which. As well as buttery mash, the plant is likely to produce other dishes such as cheesy mash, root veg mash and Colcannon. Potatoes for the new products will be supplied by Albert Bartlett’s group of 85 growers, with producers in Scotland accounting for around 90 per cent of the potatoes used. The move represents a major development for the potato producer, which processes a fifth of the fresh potatoes sold in the UK. Read more