The firm is introducing a second flexible packaging line to its factory in Derby in a bid to reduce its labour costs by about 30%. The line will be financed by a £1M capex investment, and will be implemented sometime in April and May, according to a spokeswoman for the company.

She said Thorntons was also looking to increase buying ingredients, such as nuts, through e-auctions. Reverse auctions, as they are otherwise known, are procurement tools in which the roles of the buyer and seller are reversed, as suppliers compete to obtain business. Last year, Thorntons made a six-figure saving when e-sourcing specialist Wax Digital (WD) masterminded several managed reverse auctions for the business, as reported in Food Manufacture. More on this story