New biscuit manufacturer The East Coast Bakehouse is to invest €15m (£10.7m) in its manufacturing facility in Drogheda, Ireland.

The newly established biscuit company will have its own brand, as well as manufacturing retail private label. The team behind it previously established the Jacob Fruitfield Group.

The new 50,000sq ft site is situated on Ireland’s east coast, and the opening will create around 100 jobs at the factory.

Bakehouse commercial director Daragh Monahan told British Baker sister publication The Grocer: “The building we have secured is an old engineering facility. We went for it because of the length – it is 120m which is what is required for biscuit manufacturing.

“The site has its own warehousing and loading bays and we are now ordering brand-new, bespoke manufacturing equipment including an 80-metre oven – there are not many of those in the UK.”

He also said the bakery would focus on developing quality biscuits, targeting the mainstream market.

The new facility includes an innovation centre, so that retailers can visit the site and test recipes for own ranges.

The company is also working with the Irish Food Board, Bord Bía in London, to develop links with retailers in the UK. Here it expects to generate 80%-90% of its turnover.

Production is expected to be up and running by the beginning of the first quarter next year, and recruitment for bakers and factory workers has begun.

Monahan continued: “They now have the option to buy Irish and also a new competitor to their existing suppliers, which is great for retailers.”