Sausage maker Heck is improving margins and investing massively in TV marketing

Consumers can expect to see more of the sausage maker Heck on their TV screens over the next few years, as the company says it spends a lot of money on advertising.

The North Yorkshire supplier to most major M&S supermarkets reported a modest increase in revenue in the year to the end of July 2021, while the gross margin increased to 29.5% thanks to the efficiency of automated sausage making equipment.

In accounts filed with Companies House, Heck – which employs 130 people – recorded a 6.5% increase in revenue to DKK 27.7 million. GBP, but a 47.7% drop in operating profit from £ 518,030 to £ 270,863 due to marketing investments.

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Heck said the pandemic had affected its supply chain and caused shortages of staff and truck drivers, leading to rising stocks and putting pressure on working capital. Co-founder Andrew Keeble told Business Live that recruitment challenges eased slightly, although a shortage of European workers meant staffing was still a challenge.

The company, which has already appeared in a number of TV shows and claims to control around 60% of the premium sausage market in the UK, also said that its preferred marketing approach of offering samples at events was not possible during the year.

Sir. Keeble, who started the business with his wife Debbie, said significant investments in marketing, including a national TV campaign, had eroded profits, but that it was a strategic move.

He said: “With television you do not see an immediate increase in sales, you have to keep doing it and keep doing it. So we plan to start again as part of a three-year-old “The advice we’re getting from big marketing companies is that unless you keep doing it, you’re wasting your first bit of money.”

Heck has diversified its product offering in recent months, launching spicy minced and chicken nuggets as well as beef burgers for Tesco.

Mr. Keeble added: “We are looking at other ways we can produce new products and stretch the brand using our own machines. We do not want to keep buying new sets all the time, so all the new products we bring out, is made on our current machinery.We always said ‘bangers, burgers and balls’ – that’s what we really do fresh.

“We looked at exports 18 months ago, including a bit to Europe, but to be honest, since Brexit, it has made exporting to Europe virtually impossible.

“It’s really, really hard for food brands with short shelf life to do that. So now it’s really about focusing on our core business, and that’s what we want to do for the next three to four years.”