Little Moons, a UK maker of mochi dough ice cream, is mulling the closure of a domestic factory just over a year after its opening was announced.
The London-based company has not made a final decision on the fate of the facility in Kettering in eastern England, but said closure is an option it is considering.
Little Moons announced late last year that it was opening the new 50,000 square foot Cransley Park factory, which it said would be “integral” to its growth plans.
But now it appears to have had a major re-think.
In a statement, it said: “Little Moons led a robust assessment of its business to ensure operational efficiency that will facilitate a stable and profitable future.
“This has resulted in proposed structural changes across the whole business: how we go to market, manufacture and support the business. And this does include exploring the viability of shutting down the factory in Kettering and consolidating its operations back into [London facilities] Park Royal and Wembley.
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“These proposals may lead to job losses and staff affected by the proposal have been informed and are being formally consulted before any final decision is taken.”
The company added: “We are optimistic about the future growth prospects of Little Moons and these proposed changes will help us to realise that success.”
Little Moons has not said how many employees would be affected if the closure goes ahead. Local newspaper reports suggest the factory is mainly staffed by agency workers.
Little Moons is said to be Europe’s largest producer of mochi – small balls of gelato ice cream wrapped in rice flour dough. Its products are sold by major UK supermarket chains, including Tesco and Sainsbury’s, and the company also has a presence in a number of countries on the Continent.
It told Just Food last year that it was also seeking to expand in the Asia Pacific beyond Australia and Singapore into New Zealand and Hong Kong.
In March, Little Moons, set up by Vivien Wong and her brother Howard in 2010, appointed former Graze snacks and Unilever executive Joanna Allen as the new CEO. She replaced Mike Hedges who left the business earlier that month.
Little Moons is backed by private-equity firm L Catterton, which took up an undisclosed, but “significant”, minority stake in 2022.
Little Moons’ most recent results filed with Companies House – as V&H Limited – show the business logged a turnover of £64.5m ($81.4m today) in the 18 months to 30 December 2022, compared to £25.5m in the 12 months to 30 June 2021.
Adjusted EBITDA stood at £8.5m over the 18 months versus £6.9m in the preceding 12 months. Net profit, however, dwindled to £1.5m from £4.8m.
Howard Wong previously told Just Food that the 18-month reporting period was necessary because its financial year-end was June and “we realised for an ice-cream company it really doesn’t make sense to have a financial year ending in June because all your activities are in the summer”.
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