Central Foods is expanding its frozen food portfolio through a partnership with Saxon Foods, adding a range of frozen ready baked jacket potatoes as foodservice operators look for affordable and adaptable menu options.
The range is aimed at wholesalers and caterers serving markets including schools, hospitals, universities, garden centres, cafés and workplace catering. Central Foods said the products are designed to help operators respond to renewed interest in loaded jacket potatoes while reducing preparation time and food waste in commercial kitchens.
Saxon Foods, which has operated for more than 30 years, specializes in plant-based products including ready baked potatoes and other convenience foods for the foodservice and retail sectors. The company sources British potatoes from growers in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and East Anglia and operates from a dedicated meat and allergen-free manufacturing facility. It has achieved BRCGS AA+ certification and supplies customers across the UK retail and foodservice markets.
The new range includes Small, Standard, Large and XL Ready Baked Jacket Potatoes. The products can be cooked from frozen in either a microwave or oven, allowing operators to reduce preparation requirements while maintaining consistency during service.
Jacket potatoes can be served as traditional dine-in meals, customized with a range of fillings and toppings or incorporated into grab-and-go offerings. Their flexibility also allows caterers to use existing ingredients to create different menu options while maintaining control over costs and ingredient utilization.
Oli Sampson, Managing Director of Central Foods, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Saxon Foods to the Central Foods portfolio. As with all our supplier partnerships, we’re focused on bringing high-quality, trusted manufacturers together with the UK’s wholesale and foodservice sectors.
“We’re seeing renewed interest in jacket potatoes because they deliver exactly what both operators and consumers are looking for. They offer excellent value, can be customised with an endless variety of toppings and work across multiple dayparts, from grab-and-go lunches to substantial dine-in meals. At the same time, they help operators simplify kitchen operations by reducing preparation time, minimising waste and delivering consistent quality with every serving.
“Adding Saxon Foods’ ready baked jacket potatoes to our range gives our customers another commercially relevant solution that supports menu innovation while making life easier for busy professional kitchens.”
Steve Humphrey, Managing Director at Saxon Foods, said: “Central Foods has built an excellent reputation for supplying quality frozen products to the UK foodservice sector, making them a natural distribution partner for Saxon Foods. Our ready baked jacket potatoes have been developed specifically for professional caterers, delivering the consistency, convenience and flexibility that today’s busy commercial kitchens demand. We’re looking forward to working together to make the range more accessible to wholesalers and operators throughout the UK.”
The partnership also expands Central Foods’ portfolio of frozen food products and gives wholesalers and caterers access to Saxon Foods through the distributor’s mixed-pallet consolidation model. By allowing customers to combine products rather than commit to full pallets, Central Foods said the model can help businesses broaden their ranges, reduce inventory requirements and respond more quickly to changing menu trends.
The Saxon Foods ready baked jacket potato range is now available to UK wholesalers through Central Foods.
Find out more at: https://www.centralfoods.co.uk