PETERBOROUGH-based coffee roasting and packing company, Masteroast, is celebrating thanks to a £50,000 funding boost from the Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative.
Run by the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP), this latest award of £50,000 puts the scheme’s total funding at over £2.1 million, which has been invested into a range of businesses over the past ten months.
Based on Newark Road, Masteroast is one of the top five coffee roasting and packing companies in the country, accounting for one in seven cups of fresh ground coffee sold in the UK that are drunk outside the home.
Masteroast will use the funding to buy and install two important pieces of equipment. The first is a new bespoke coffee bag packing line which will improve automation and productivity as well as providing capacity to expand within the airline and travel sector, building on the Masteroast coffee that is already being served on EasyJet and Virgin Trains.
The second piece of new equipment is a new specialist Nespresso compatible capsule packing line which will enable Masteroast to launch the world’s first fully compostable coffee capsule.
Both pieces of new equipment are due to be in place by the end of July 2015, and thanks to the investment from the LEP, Masteroast plans to create over ten new jobs, including operational and production roles, as well as account handlers and admin support jobs.
Andy Fawkes, Managing Director of Masteroast, said, “We are delighted with the news. The support from the Eastern Agri-Tech Growth initiative will bolster our position as an innovator in the Coffee sector, creating new opportunities both in the UK and export markets. It also underpins our commitment to the region and means more new jobs here in Peterborough.”
Mark Reeve, Chairman of the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP), commented, “To date over £2 million has been invested into 24 projects across the region. The wide range of projects we have supported reflects the strength of the East of England’s agricultural sector from high-value manufacturing to food and drink production, farming to innovative IT systems, the Eastern Agri-Tech Growth initiative is driving forward economic growth in our area.
“Masteroast is an excellent example of the kind of business that the Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative is designed to fund. As a highly successful manufacturer and exporter of coffee, this scheme will enable Masteroast to purchase the new equipment they need to grow.”
The Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative still has grants available to organisations looking to invest in specialist equipment, new market and supply chain development, ways to improve productivity and efficiency, and the application and commercialisation of Research and Development.
To find out how the Eastern Agri-Tech growth Initiative could help to grow your business, visit www.agritechgrants.co.uk or call the LEP on 01480 277180.