GM-free food is big US export opportunity for manufacturers

“GM-free is something very much on the minds of people when they’re walking through the ​[US] supermarket shelves,”​ said Mash Direct director Jack Hamilton, speaking at the Food Manufacture Group’s Business Leaders’ Forum in London last month.

‘Big declarations of GM-free’​

“When you walk through many of the retailers on the eastern seaboard of the US, you’ll see big declarations of GM-free, and it’s something as a Northern Irish business we can proudly proclaim when we go across there with our marketing. ​

“We can say GM-free on pack, in a way that most US manufacturers cannot, as well as being gluten-free, clean specification, and all of things on top of that, that makes it a big opportunity for food manufacturers in the UK.”​

In a wide ranging interview, Hamilton also said that Mash Direct was hoping to win big listings in the US by the end of the year. The firm’s flexible manufacturing base was a big selling point to US retailers, he added.

“The US for anyone in food manufacturing is always a very exciting place to look at,”​ said Hamilton.

‘Very positive feedback’​

“This year we’ve seen some real progress with the regulatory environment here in the UK, as well as the retail environment. It means we have an incredibly dynamic and agile manufacturing base, which we have then used to go across and pitch to various different retailers in the US, which had some very positive feedback.”​

The Food Manufacture Group’s Business Leaders’ Forum was held at the London office of host sponsor law firm DWF. Other sponsors included: RSA Insurance Group, packaging specialist Charpak and analytical testing provider ALS Life Sciences UK.