IN Brief:
- Nomad Foods is investing £2.2m in a new potato waffle production line at Lowestoft.
- The line will increase annual waffle capacity to around 18,250 tonnes.
- The investment follows chicken processing upgrades and sits alongside renewable energy plans at the site.
Nomad Foods is investing £2.2m in a new potato waffle production line at its Lowestoft factory, adding capacity at one of the UK’s longest-established frozen food manufacturing sites.
The new line will increase annual waffle capacity to approximately 18,250 tonnes, equivalent to nearly 45 million potato waffles. The investment forms part of Nomad Foods’ broader productivity programme, which is focused on efficiency, competitiveness, and manufacturing scale across its network.
Lowestoft produces Birds Eye potato waffles, chicken dippers, peas, and coated fish. The site has operated since 1949, covers more than 25 acres, and remains one of the largest private-sector employers in the local area. Around 15% of its output is exported to other European markets, giving the factory a role that extends beyond domestic supply.
The waffle line follows a recent £12m investment in chicken processing at Lowestoft and sits alongside plans for an on-site wind turbine. For frozen food manufacturing, energy cost and reliability are central operating concerns. Cooking, freezing, cold storage, and controlled-temperature distribution all create heavy utility exposure, making long-term energy planning part of factory competitiveness.
“This latest investment at our Lowestoft site is testament to our long-term commitment to UK food manufacturing,” said Eduardo Bachiega, chief supply officer at Nomad Foods. “By increasing our production capacity we’re directly responding to consumer demand for household favourites, such as potato waffles, that are already being manufactured 24/7 at the factory.”
The project shows how frozen food manufacturers are approaching plant investment around more than headline capacity. New lines are increasingly judged on throughput, labour efficiency, changeover performance, energy consumption, maintenance burden, and process consistency. In a category built around accessible staples, those operating gains can carry as much weight as product innovation.
Potato-based production is also becoming more technically demanding. Integrated snack and potato processing lines, including recent systems that combine conveying, sorting, seasoning, and inspection, point to a wider push for tighter process control and higher yield. Frozen potato formats operate differently from crisps and snacks, but the same pressures apply: raw material variability, line efficiency, waste reduction, and consistent finished product quality.
Lowestoft’s European export role adds another layer to the investment. Frozen food networks depend on plants that can run high-volume staples efficiently while balancing demand across multiple markets. A factory able to support UK retail supply and export channels gives Nomad flexibility as consumer demand, promotional cycles, and logistics costs shift.
Frozen food has retained a strong position during cost-of-living pressure because it offers portion control, long shelf life, and reduced household waste. For manufacturers, those advantages depend on industrial discipline. Products must be processed, packed, frozen, stored, transported, and merchandised through temperature-controlled systems while protecting margin in price-sensitive categories.
The Lowestoft investment strengthens a mature UK production site around a high-volume branded staple. By connecting processing capacity with previous chicken upgrades and future energy infrastructure, Nomad Foods is reinforcing the type of plant resilience that frozen food manufacturers increasingly need: steady output, predictable cost control, and enough network flexibility to serve both domestic and European demand.
