CRISP manufacturer Seabrook is on target to achieve four per cent of its annual £30m turnover in export sales by the end of this financial year after the signing of a major new deal.

The Bradford firm is to supply discount supermarket chain Aldi, in Australia, where it has up to 470 stores.

The new contract follows on from similar export deals made by Seabrook with retailers in the United Arab Emirates, France, Spain and China and Hong Kong.

Seabrook started planning to export in 2015 after LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, acquired the company for £35m.

They have been getting strategic export development advice from overseas trade specialist Chamber International.

Seabrook marketing and international sales director Kevin Butterworth said: “Successful exporting requires long-term commitment.

“Securing the latest retail deal with Aldi in Australia keeps us on target to achieve four per cent revenue in exports by April 2018, two years from our first export sale in April 2016, and our medium-term aim to achieve ten per cent export revenue within five years.

“We wanted to export for some time and the private equity deal injected £4m into upgrading our factory, giving us what we needed in terms of increased capacity, flexibility to provide shorter product runs for international markets and to reinforce packaging to extend shelf life from four to 11 months as the export market requires.

“We engaged with Chamber International from the start and they immediately added value with strategic consultancy by looking at where we wanted to get to and how best to achieve this. They also provided crucial overseas contacts, particularly an export development programme in the UAE which enabled us to meet 11 potential buyers in three days and which I could not have achieved under my own steam.”

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Chamber International senior export adviser David Attia, who is advising the company, said: “Seabrook has become a model SME exporter by approaching breaking into overseas markets in a systematic and thorough way. Potato crisps are enjoyed all over the world and I’m sure Seabrook can make global exports a significant part of its business.”