The Poppintree plant was built in 1995 and since has undergone significant upgrades to support cooking capabilities. The facility produces the Walsh family Foods Spice Burger, which was invented in the 1950s. Kepak is planning a marketing refresh for the Spice Burger brand.

Kepak expects the Poppintree acquisition to complement the company’s value-added business initiatives related to ‘Food To Go’, Foodservice while supporting continued growth of Kepak consumer branded Rustlers products. The Rustlers brand is one of the largest Irish-owned food brands with significant market share in the United Kingdom and a growing presence in Germany, Belgium and Holland, according to Kepak.

John Horgan, managing director at Kepak Group, said in a statement that “meeting the challenge of changing consumer tastes, increasingly competitive markets and the potential disruption from Brexit, requires an approach that plays to our strengths and invests strategically in acquisitions which deepen our offering, especially in the new markets we are developing. As an Irish company and one of Europe’s leading food innovators, engaged in processing and marketing a full range of meat proteins in varied formats and presentations, the addition of Poppintree to the Kepak family of facilities further enhances our capability in added value cooked products.”

The facility will be renamed Kepak Poppintree. Kepak said there will be no negative impact on the approximately 35 workers currently employed at the plant. The Poppintree acquisition is the fourth for Kepak following a joint venture investment in Greene Farm Fine Foods in Westmeath, and the acquisitions of Country Park Foods (CPF), Huddersfield and Kepak Clare.