Euro Foods’ development director, Andrew Miller, said the firm wanted to establish a presence in the West Midlands.
He told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “We had nothing in the Midlands, north west and west London and have been working to resolve this.
“This development gives us a distribution network that enables us to go national. We now have a warehouse hub so most of our inbound deliveries will go there.”
The firm has already moved into a warehouse in Darlaston, Wallsall and recruited around 20 workers from the local area.
The firm is planning to extend the warehouse further and take on another 100 staff over the next 12 to 18 months.
Miller said: “Euro Foods supplies restaurants, catering outlets and specialist supermarkets with a range of products from fresh fish to exotic spices and ethnic foods.
Chinese, Indian and Thai food
“We ventured into Wallsall because it has good motorway access and is in an area where we know people enjoy eating Chinese, Indian and Thai food.”
Miller said the foodservice arm of the company was driving the growth in the business.
“Restaurants are fighting the same recessionary pressures as the rest of the economy. We are not seeing overall growth in spicy foods it’s more a case of our improving our quality range of service and value.”
Euro Foods is also planning to open a new warehouse in Hayes, Middlesex, early next year.
Miller said: “In time we would expect upwards of 50 jobs there, with mixed skills.”
Euro Foods has three brands: CaterersDepot.com, which supplies fresh and exotic food to the restaurant trade; EFG Wholesale, which serves the specialist retail sectors; and Masala Bazaar – a growing chain of retail outlets that specialises in Asian food products.
Specialist retail sectors
The company worked with Wallsall Council on the development and Miller said the support they received from the council was invaluable in their success.
“The Think Walsall Business Support team has saved us time and money by bringing us together with all the relevant planning officers so that we were clear on the type of development and expansion that would be acceptable in the area,” he said.
“We wouldn’t have been able to have done that ourselves, as we don’t know the area and the right people to speak to.”
Councillor Adrian Andrew, Walsall Council coalition portfolio holder for regeneration, said: "As Euro Foods has proved, this borough has a lot to offer businesses and I'm delighted that the help this firm received was top class.”
