McCain Foods Strengthened Its Partnership with Frozen Food Producer Strong Roots

McCain Foods and Strong Roots, a frozen food manufacturer located in Dublin, enhanced their collaboration. The two companies had earlier declared their strategic alliance for 2021. McCain will invest in this alliance to increase the range of products it offers and reach a wider global consumer base with ecologically friendly, vegetable-forward food options.

This is another example of McCain's ongoing efforts to “fix the freezer aisle” by bringing the Strong Roots brand to new markets and providing even more environmentally friendly, vegetable-focused products to cater to the growing number of consumers who want tasty, easy-to-make meals that are natural, healthy, and packed with real vegetables.

“This investment bolsters McCain’s commitment to planet-friendly food, enabling us to extend our portfolio of healthier options that are grown, processed, and shipped sustainably. With a vision and values aligned to McCain’s, we are excited to continue our journey to scale the Strong Roots brand globally,” Jillian Moffatt, Regional President, McCain GB & Ireland said.

A brand advisory council comprising the founder of Strong Roots, members of the Strong Roots and McCain teams, and outside advisors will be established to oversee the brand and business to preserve consistency and demonstrate McCain's faith and excitement in the collaboration.

Simple, real food that is healthy for both people and the environment is the main focus of Strong Roots. In addition to enhancing McCain's current product line, they have created a variety of trendy vegetable-forward meals, sides, and snacks that will guarantee that people everywhere have better access to wholesome, sustainably produced food.

Both companies have a strong commitment to environmental sustainability; by 2030, McCain plans to use regenerative agricultural methods on all of its potato land, while Strong Roots is recognized as a B Corp.

“Since 2021, our partnership with Strong Roots has reflected our ambition to invest for the future and to diversify our portfolio to ensure we continue to meet evolving consumer demands. We are excited to help further accelerate growth, bringing natural, simple meals and ingredients to even more customers in retail and foodservice markets,” Peter Dawe, Chief Growth and Strategy Officer of McCain Foods, added.

Thus far, Strong Roots products have been added to the McCain Foodservice portfolio in the U.K. and Ireland as well as the retail portfolio in France. There are future ambitions to expand the food service and retail offers worldwide. Under Charlotte Turton's direction, Strong Roots will function as a separate company, with Samuel Dennigan, the founder, collaborating with the team to drive additional portfolio innovation and brand expansion.

“We have witnessed tremendous growth since partnering with McCain and this move will enable Strong Roots to maintain its focus on sustainability while propelling innovation to bring delicious, vegetable-forward products to more consumers around the world,” Samuel Dennigan, Strong Roots founder and CEO, declared.

The strengthened partnership with Strong Roots is the latest of a series of investments and acquisitions McCain has made in recent years to expand its product and service offerings including Scelta Products and Forno Di Minas.