A new award-winning company making indulgent plant-based desserts has announced that it will be launching a specialist 14,000 sq ft blending facility in Ossett, Wakefield.
Freaks of Nature chilled desserts are made using their own recipe of nut milks and creams and are crammed full of fruits, coconut, natural nectars and cacao but free from dairy, gluten, soya, white sugar and artificial additives and preservatives – and are designed to make people feel great, not guilty. The four strong launch product range will be sold in stores nationwide from April 2017.
Founder Peter Ahye has lived in Yorkshire since studying at the University of Leeds. A Chartered Accountant who has always had a passion for the kitchen is now determined to deliver great tasting, naturally free from desserts.
He has enjoyed seeing the development of the region since his student days and is launching a cutting-edge blending facility in Ossett to generate local jobs in the Yorkshire community.
Freaks of Nature will create up to 25 new jobs on opening in the Spring and hope to increase this to 80 jobs when they progress to capacity. The company is already recruiting for talented chefs and teams to help produce the high-quality chilled dessert range, as well as a site engineer and head office roles from planning, administration, marketing and forecasting.
The state-of-the-art facility plans to supply their unique range of chilled desserts across the UK and internationally, with capabilities to produce an impressive 125,000 pots per day from the Ossett site when at full capacity.
The site in Ossett is a forward-thinking investment designed to give the company a level of control and transparency about the ingredients and unique blending techniques that make each product. As honesty and quality is at the heart of the Freaks of Nature ethos, this is an essential requirement and one that few other brands can boast.
Although the venture is privately funded, Freaks of Nature is delighted to have the support of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) with a financial grant to support capital investment in the business.
In addition, Wakefield Council is providing the company with valuable assistance in training and recruitment.
Founder Peter Ahye says: “We are excited to be launching our award-winning plant-based brand Freaks of Nature with a dedicated facility in Ossett, Wakefield.
Investing back into the local region I’ve lived in for so many years is an important milestone in my business career. Wakefield is renowned for highly skilled people and top manufacturing talent, so we are absolutely delighted to be generating a number of new jobs with this venture.
It has been encouraging that both the LEP and Wakefield Council have also supported this venture, as part of my small contribution to the Northern Powerhouse.
Our brand’s mission is to make super-indulgent, natural treats that millions of consumers can enjoy: be they health conscious, food intolerant or just excited about delicious food.
The market for nut milks in particular has exploded and soon consumers can enjoy desserts made from our nut milks and creams. Retailers are telling us they want to build consumers basket spend in this category in terms of both volume and value. A very rare thing nowadays.
We are well underway with our facility to be ready for our nationwide launch in spring 2017.”
Consumers can get their freak on with four exciting varieties of super indulgent and natural puds, each provided in a single or duo pot pack (90g per pot, RRP £2,29 or £3.99 per pack):
- The fantastically fruity Mango Fandango is a creamy vanilla posset with coconut blossom nectar, served with a golden layer of fresh passionfruit and Indian Alphonso mango coulis, all topped with chopped green pistachios.
- The deliciously decadent Cocoa Loco is a silky, rich double chocolate ganache made with coconut milk and a special blend of cashew cream, sweetened with date syrup and finished with textured caramelised hazelnut clusters.
- Sumptuous dark chocolate ganache is infused with fresh orange zest and topped with crunchy clusters of oats to create the marvellously moreish Chocwork Orange pud.
- Zingy Thingy is a freakishly fresh lemon posset made from a unique blend of nut milks and creams, topped with a deeply rich raspberry coulis.
Feel free to indulge in these wonderfully inspired desserts whether you are dairy-contrary, a soya avoider or just can’t stand the wheat: this is truly liberating food with absolutely no junk.
Chair of the LEP, Roger Marsh OBE said: “It’s a really exciting time to grow a business in Leeds City Region and I’m delighted we can support this ambitious company to invest in great facilities.
There will be new opportunities in the New Year for owners of small to medium businesses to get support to invest in their business. I hope Freaks of Nature take of advantage of this too. If you want to talk through what’s available, call the LEP team and we can keep you posted.”
Councillor Box, Leader of Wakefield Council said:
“I’m delighted to welcome a new investor to Wakefield, reflecting strong private sector confidence in our area as a business location. We have a great talent pool and a can-do attitude and this is attractive to entrepreneurs.
I look forward to seeing the innovative Freaks of Nature establish themselves and grow. If you too want to grow your business, contact the LEP to see how they can help you too.”
Freaks of Nature desserts will be available to consumers nationwide from April 2017.
