CK Foods Opens £5M Production Plant In Bradford

Family-owned food manufacturer, CK Foods, is officially announcing the opening of their new purpose-built £5M state-of-the-art food production facility in West Bowling, Bradford.

Our company, which has specialised in the manufacturing and processing of pizza cheese for a number of years, is now introducing poultry products to our portfolio as part of our ongoing expansion program.

Omar Bhamji, Managing Director of CK Foods, says: “Historically, we have manufactured pizza cheese and this is still currently the primary area of our business at our factory in Hull. But the factory in Bradford has been built for the manufacture and processing of chilled and frozen chicken products. We have significantly invested in some of the latest state-of-the-art technological equipment which is specifically designed to produce a range of products.”

The site in Bradford is already employing around 20 people and Mr. Bhamji says that once it’s operating to capacity the company expects to increase the workforce to approximately 60 people. CK Foods already employs a further 60 people at its two sites based in Hull.

A gap in the market for locally sourced halal poultry products was the inspiration behind the opening of the new facility in West Bowling, Bradford, which received over £800,000 funding from the Leeds City Region.

Mr. Bhamji states: “Cheese was basically our entry into manufacturing, it just gave us an idea as to what the manufacturing role relates. We saw there was an opportunity within the market for locally produced poultry products, with a close UK supply chain, which wasn’t being catered for. Most of the products were coming in from the Far East or Eastern Europe.”

As well as the proximity of the supply chain, CK Foods chose Bradford as the site for our expansion in order to plug into the network of businesses already catering to the South Asian demographic.

Mr. Bhamji says: “Typically, Bradford seems to have a strong ethnic business community producing ethnic products, so it was about plugging into that existing network. You’ve got your Asian bakeries and ready meals that are being produced here in Bradford already, so we’re just bolting on to that.”

By situating in close proximity to other businesses looking to tap into a similar demographic we hope to see potential customers drop in when they’re visiting the area. There is a potential for it to be a hub for South Asian foods. We have the infrastructure in place – universities, the road, and rail networks are close by.”

Mr. Bhamji says: “We did things in phases, concentrating on the building construction work first, followed by the fit-out in the second phase. Then we were looking for the right opportunity to enter the marketplace. Over the past few months we’ve been undergoing a test phase at the plant however it is now in production. We’re producing products on a large scale. We create economies of scale by producing in volume on a fully automated line which is completely integrated.”