It was announced in early January by Colman’s owners, Unilever, that the site at Carrow Road in Norwich where Colman’s Mustard has been made since 1858, will close next year. Production will be transferred to sites in Burton upon Trent and Germany, affecting around 133 jobs.
However, it is not all bad news. Unilever are planning a new production facility in Norwich to mill and pack mustard, as well as to process the leaves for mint sauce. The company are said to be proud of their long term partnership with a consortium of four mint growers who harvest 800 tonnes of the herb each year near Norwich, and 18 mustard growers in the Fenland areas of Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.
David Martin, chief executive of the growers’ consortium, said: “We welcome the proposals for a new long-term partnership between Unilever and mustard and mint growers. This partnership will allow us to jointly develop a new “state-of the-art” facility near Norwich for mustard milling and mint processing. We expect that the facility will create around 25 jobs in the local area and will open up new possibilities for the future.”
Photo: Colman’s mint sauce, made from fresh Norfolk mint leaves.