MEAL.L Regulatory News (MEAL)

17 June 2021

Parsley Box Group plc

("Parsley Box" or the "Company")

Parsley Box hires food development gurus

Parsley Box Group plc, the rapidly growing direct to consumer provider of ready meals focused on the Baby Boomer + demographic, is pleased to announce it has hired two highly respected food development specialists in the field of Food Innovation and New Product Development (NPD) to help the company expand its ranges and deliver best in class products for the over 60s.

Cassandra Suddes, who has worked with the Company as a consultant since the start of the year, will take the role of Head of Product in August 2021. Cassandra is renowned in the food industry for her work in commercial strategy, predicting future trends, leading and delivering product innovation launch programmes with a focus on food provenance.

Since 2017, Cassandra has worked for her own consultancy advising food manufacturers and retailers on upcoming food trends. Her clients have included: Co-op, 2 Sisters Group, Scot Beef, Greencore and RM Curtis. Prior to this she was innovation and NPD controller at Greencore and had various senior roles over seven years at Marks and Spencer including product development manager (2013-2016), food trends insight manager (2012-2013) and product developer - groceries (2010-2012). Before joining Marks and Spencer, she worked with Baxters Food Group, Tanfield Food Company (which she co-founded) and United Biscuits.

Additionally, Serena Philipson has been appointed as New Product Development Manager. Cassandra and Serena worked together at Tanfield Food Company (2005-2010) and Marks and Spencer (2011-2016). At Marks and Spencer, Serena was responsible for the end-to-end management of new product development across various ranges including the highly successful Italian and American ranges as well as soups and desserts. She has also worked with En Route suppliers to develop new products and packaging to be served aboard British Airways and Emirates. Serena has a very strong track record of implementing business plans and delivering break through profitable NPD.

Kevin Dorren, CEO of Parsley Box said:

"Following our IPO in March, this is one example of the types of strategic investments that we are making and goes to the core of our strategy of securing our position as market leader in the UK through customer acquisition, retention and continuous improvement. One clear benefit of being a listed company is attracting high-calibre talent such as Cassandra and Serena, one of the best product development teams in the industry.

"They are already developing an extensive range of new products to be launched over three phases later this year and we look forward to providing further detail in due course.

"Parsley Box has grown phenomenally in a relatively short period of time. We have the opportunity and strategy in place to realise our ambition of becoming a household name and take a significant share of the ready meal market."

Cassandra Suddes said:

"Serena and I are excited to be joining the Parsley Box family; a dynamic, disruptive business looking to address the needs of an underserved market.

"We've identified huge opportunities for growth and development, from bakery to sharing dishes to mention just two, but underlining it all, we'll be pushing boundaries to surprise and delight our customers."

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