The Greater Lincolnshire food processing cluster has two main clusters, the largest is in South Lincolnshire across Boston, South Holland and North and South Kesteven, with a second strength on the south bank of the Humber in North and North East Lincolnshire.

In total the food processing cluster directly employs nearly 20,000 people, or 4.2% of the workforce, a proportion of the workforce which is more than three times the national average. 

This core workforce supports tens of thousands more jobs in the supply chain, from farms to logistics, packaging and machinery, with the total commercial food chain supporting c.75,000 jobs.

The food processing cluster is skilled, ambitious and investing at scale, combining food production and processing with an international and national transport hub. As well as local businesses, the food processing cluster includes major international businesses, with in total over 90 large food chain businesses in Greater Lincolnshire.

South Holland has a commercial food sector which employs 42% of the local workforce in agriculture, food processing and distribution, 10 times higher than the proportion of the workforce found nationally.  Boston has major food plants run by Albert Bartlett, Greenyard, Greencore, Bakkavor and growing food trading chain companies, such as Davis Worldwide and Ripe Now.

South Lincolnshire is also the centre of UK food logistics, with an estimated 30% of all national food freight distributed through the district, centred on Spalding with major transport businesses including: Fowler Welch (owned by Culina); Freshlinc; HZ logistics; GIST (part of Marks and Spencer); XPO; Bakkavor, and in Boston, Turners distribution centre at Bicker, all focused on the agrifood sector.

North and South Kesteven also has major food processors and food logistics centres, including leading food processing sites such as Pilgrims Europe in Anwick and Ruskington near Sleaford, and Magnavale’s UK leading cold stores at Easton near Grantham.

Sectors in which Greater Lincolnshire leads national food processing include the fresh produce cluster in South Lincolnshire, poultry and meat processing in Spalding, North Kesteven and North Lincolnshire, and seafood in Grimsby.  There are also major processed food businesses, including the UK’s largest pizza factory, major frozen food manufacturers and soups and sauces.  Poultry expertise also sees the area host the UK’s second largest egg packer, Fairburns Eggs, as well as a site for the UK’s largest egg packer Noble Foods.