130 Years of Adaptability: How Uren Keeps Evolving with the Food Industry
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Marking 130 years in the food industry is not about looking back. For Uren, it is about recognising what has kept the business moving forward: adaptability.
Since 1895, Uren has changed with the food industry around it. From its beginnings as a bacon trader in Liverpool to becoming a global supplier of fruits, flavours and ingredients, the company has learned to evolve early and stay practical. That focus on flexibility continues to define how Uren works today.
Adapting to a Changing Industry
Food manufacturing never stands still. Consumer tastes shift, formats change, and new technologies appear every year. Uren has always seen these shifts as opportunities to rethink how it supports customers.
The business has moved from local trading to large-scale fruit farming and processing in Poland and Chile. Each phase has added new layers of expertise. Today, that means combining technical knowledge, dependable logistics and flavour innovation to help customers react quickly to market change.
Frozen fruit and vegetable production has expanded as demand for natural and consistent ingredients has grown. At the same time, flavour development has become a central part of Uren’s offer, helping brands bring familiar products up to date with modern taste profiles.
Adaptability at Uren is not about chasing trends. It is about making sure partners have the right ingredients and insight to build products that work commercially, technically and creatively.
Responding to Consumer Shifts
The way people eat and think about food keeps evolving. Global influences, cleaner ingredient lists and more mindful consumption have all shaped how products are developed.
Uren’s flavour and fruit ranges reflect that change. Ingredients that once felt niche now appear in everyday categories, from bakery and desserts to dairy and beverages. The company continues to track these movements closely, working with manufacturers to adjust formulations, textures and taste balance.
Recent trends in Japanese-inspired desserts, functional fibres and lighter, fruit-led profiles show how far consumer expectations have come.
For Uren, the goal is always the same: to give customers ingredients and technical support that make those shifts achievable in real production settings.
Modern Thinking, Classic Formats
To celebrate 130 years in business, Uren’s development team revisited two cakes that would have been popular when the company was founded: the Victoria sponge and the Battenberg. Rather than recreate them as historical pieces, the team rebuilt them using modern flavour trends and Uren’s own ingredients.
Strawberry Black Pepper & Basil Victoria Sponge
The first, a strawberry, black pepper and basil Victoria sponge, pairs familiar structure with sharper, cleaner flavour notes. It uses Uren’s IQF strawberries, basil flavour and a touch of black pepper extract for depth. The result feels contemporary but true to its origins.
Named after Queen Victoria, this light sponge became a staple of afternoon tea in the late 19th century. Baking powder made its soft texture possible, and it was traditionally filled with jam.
Uren SKUs:
- IQF Strawberries
- Lemon Juice NFC
- IQF Basil
- Basil Extract Powder 7.31167
- Strawberry Type Flavour 7.95347
- Vanilla Flavour 7.31251
Matcha Strawberry & Mint Battenberg
The second, a matcha, strawberry and mint Battenberg, layers matcha sponge with strawberry-flavoured cake, finished with a white chocolate ganache and marzipan tinted with rubescent red. It is a simple illustration of how global tastes continue to influence British formats.
Created in 1884 to celebrate the marriage of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Victoria, to Prince Louis of Battenberg. Its pink and yellow sponge squares, wrapped in marzipan, were said to represent the four Battenberg princes.
Uren SKUs
- Matcha Tea
- Almond Flour
- Nanah Mint Flavour 7.31181
- Strawberry Flavour 7.93665
- Matcha Type Flavour 7.98369
Both recipes show how Uren’s ingredients fit within modern development, not as novelties but as tools to refresh traditional ideas for today’s market.
Practical Agility Behind the Scenes
Adaptability also means maintaining strong operational systems. Uren’s production sites in Poland and Chile form the backbone of its global supply network, supported by technical teams who oversee quality and traceability.
At Lublin in Poland, Uren’s Novaberry coldstore processes thousands of tonnes of frozen fruit each year. Continuous investment in equipment and freezing technology has improved throughput and efficiency while maintaining product integrity.
In Chile, the Berries Chile facility provides a reliable supply of fruit during the European off-season for year-round availability. These investments allow Uren to support both large-scale manufacturers and smaller producers with the same level of reliability.
Operational flexibility combined with technical expertise allows Uren to adapt to customer requirements quickly and with confidence.
Adaptability as Everyday Practice
At Uren, adaptability is part of our daily work. Every area of the business, from sourcing and production to flavour creation and technical support, is shaped around helping customers respond to change.
The company’s teams continue to refine how ingredients are sourced, processed and applied, always with the goal of improving consistency and performance.
The balance of heritage and evolution has kept Uren at the centre of the UK’s ingredient supply for more than a century.
As the food industry keeps moving, Uren’s direction remains steady: listen, learn and stay flexible. The sector will always bring new challenges and opportunities, but the principle will stay the same, keep adapting to what the world eats next.
