UK-based egg supplier Noble Foods has acquired domestic peer Just Egg as part of a strategy to expand its “added-value” range.

Noble Foods is buying the business from Pankaj Pancholi and his family, who set up the company in 2003. It specialises in shell eggs for the retail channel, along with hard-boiled and poached varieties, as well as mayonnaise.

Pancholi said in a joint statement with Nobel Foods: “This business has been my life’s work and I’m incredibly proud of what our team has achieved. As I step back, I do so with confidence knowing Just Egg is joining Noble Foods – a company that shares our values and passion for quality."

In a LinkedIn post, Pancholi added: “[The] last 10 years have been a rollercoaster ride but we held our head above water, defying all odds."

Noble Foods described Just Egg as a “natural fit” for the group and said the deal - struck for an undisclosed sum - “supports our long-term strategy to grow and diversify, bringing new capabilities that strengthen how we serve our customers and develop our business”.

Duncan Everett, the CEO of Noble Foods, said in the same statement: “The business Pankaj and his team have built is one we deeply respect, and we’re committed to preserving the quality, service and care their customers value so highly.”

In a LinkedIn post, Everett said the deal brings in “new technologies, capabilities and customers as we continue to grow and develop Noble Foods”.

Just Egg operates from a 15,000 square-foot “purpose-built” facility in North Leicester, which includes a designated office, storage and processing areas.

Nobel Foods has recently invested in its own capabilities. Last year, it invested in an “added-value" manufacturing site in Leicestershire for a new range of prepared egg products.

The company's added value business head Will Cadbury told Just Food at the time it intended to spend a “multi-million” sum over “the next few years” at the facility. The 10,000 square-meter plant was set up to produce a range of foods such as omelettes, egg bites, and frittatas.

In its most-recent accounts filed with Companies House, Noble Foods reported a £11.7m ($15.8m) loss after tax and a turnover of £290.3m for the year ended 29 September 2023.

The company said the figures represented the “results of a challenging year” from “significant” cost inflation and supply chain disruptions in a “volatile” macroeconomic environment.

In 2022, it recorded a £13.5m loss with a turnover of £269.1m.

"UK’s Noble Foods buys local peer Just Egg" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand.