BOPARAN TO INVEST £100M IN TURKEY AND GROW YEAR-ROUND DEMAND FOR HEALTHIER PROTEIN

Bernard Matthews factory upgrades will bring new product innovation and offer more British turkey

Boparan Private Office, owner of the iconic Bernard Matthews turkey brand, today announced a £100m investment in British turkey, driven by increased consumer demand for healthier protein.

Bernard Matthews’ main site in Halesworth, Suffolk, will be at the forefront of the investment.  The site processes around 100,000 turkeys a week and the investment will include general building improvements, new amenities for the 700 colleagues based at the site, a new lairage, new processing and refrigeration equipment and the introduction of advanced digital tools and robotics. 

This will enable Bernard Matthews to deliver higher welfare and develop new innovative high protein products, including Gochujang Turkey Strips and Moroccan Style Turkey Koftas, which will join the 64 all-year-round turkey products, like mince, meatballs and drumsticks already produced by Bernard Matthews at its Halesworth and Sunderland sites.

With around 7%* of the UK population using or having used GLP-1 weight loss drugs, demand for healthier protein is at an all-time high. As a high protein, lower fat and lower calorie meal option, turkey meets the needs of health-conscious Brits, and Boparan sees big opportunities to grow the market through its traditional retail customers.

Bernard Matthews will also draw on the experience of leading German turkey producer, Heidemark Group, acquired by Boparan Private Office in February. Turkey is already an everyday protein eaten regularly in many forms by Germans and Heidemark are leaders in productivity, process automation and product innovation in the European poultry industry.

President and Founder of Boparan Private Office, Ranjit Singh, said: “We are about to ramp up turkey production for the traditional British Christmas, but looking beyond the festive spike, we also see big opportunities to offer this healthy, low fat, high protein alternative all year round, in a much bigger and more exciting way than anybody is doing right now.

“We’ll learn from our new European partners and work to create new opportunities for British turkey farmers and exciting new turkey products for our customers.

“This £100m investment in our turkey business will drive innovation, improve animal welfare and create a healthier and more sustainable British food supply chain – a key aim of our £2bn NextGen strategy.

“We intend to show that turkey is definitely not just for Christmas.”

ENDS

Boparan is investing £2bn in its NextGen strategy to modernise factories and farms, raise animal welfare and environmental standards, and support its Net Zero by 2035 ambition.

*May 2026 Food Foundation survey.