JPL Flavours, one of the UK’s fastest growing flavour companies, has announced a series of strategic investments in its facilities, technology and team. £11M has been invested in a new state-of-the-art innovation and manufacturing site at Bromborough, UK. Two senior appointments – a new MD and Director of Digital Innovation – will help founding flavourist and Chief Exec, Jake Lavelle, to scale the business further in the drive towards becoming the most technologically-advanced flavour house in the UK.
In September 2025, JPL opened the doors to its new 75,000 square feet premises that includes automated manufacturing systems, 16 flavour labs and a soon-to-be-opened digital innovation suite. It also has a dedicated customer lab, where customer NPD teams can work side by side with JPL Flavours’ flavourists and application team.
New Appointments to lead the way
With a turnover of more than £10M in 2024, the appointment of a new MD, Tony Havvas will ensure the privately owned company is well equipped to meet growing demand for its unique custom flavours, while retaining its reputation for best-in-class customer service.
Havvas, who has significant experience of running businesses and large teams in the retail sector, including food and beverage, joined JPL Flavours in Summer 2025 and oversaw the development of its new facility. His focus as MD is operationally taking founder Lavelle’s vision forward to continue the company’s growth trajectory, enabled by cutting-edge technology, while retaining the unique values it has been built upon. A new Director of Operations, Patrick Duggan, has also recently joined the business and will take the reins from Cliff Armstrong who retires in 2026.
A new Director of Digital Innovation, Dr Jim Mooney will spearhead the company’s technology-first strategy, which is brought to life by a new digital innovation suite that uses Augmented Reality combined with Virtual Reality to put customers in consumers’ shoes, so they can experience how a particular environment, such as a café, fast food outlet, or outdoor dining setting, can affect taste perception.
Before joining JPL Flavours, Jim led Enterprise Programmes at the University of Liverpool, working with AI specialists, data scientists, IoT experts, and software developers to help businesses adopt new technologies and ideas. With a PhD in Manufacturing, Jim began his career fascinated by how technology can make complex work simpler and smarter.
Jake Lavelle commented: “From day one we have been a different kind of flavour house. Founded and run by a flavourist, not a financier, we reinvest around three times the industry average on capital equipment, R&D and technology. Automated manufacturing that features in our new site is almost unheard of in the UK flavour industry.”
“We’re proud to have become, in less than a decade, the UK’s flavour supplier of choice, trusted by brands like Krispy Krème + Fox’s Burtons Companies. Why do they choose us over other flavour houses? We’re an audacious creator – we make anything, with no restrictions, tailored for each customer. We’re also a private, family business with honest business practices and, unusually in this market, we are totally committed to staying independent. We are now even better equipped than ever, with the tech, people and mindset to help save more manufacturers from mediocre taste and service.”
Tony Havvas added: “Jake has built an incredible business in JPL Flavours, full of passionate, talented people who genuinely love what they do. The unique culture, which sets us apart, allows creativity to thrive and productivity to prevail. This, alongside continued investment in technology, including AI, will ensure the business will continue to challenge the flavour industry status quo, offering food and beverage developers a better way.”
JPL Flavours recently celebrated the opening of its new facility with a showcase of its site, technology and flavour expertise for customers, partners and friends. The day included a fun-fuelled charity darts event, in which the company donated £22,000 to Claire House Children’s Hospice, in support of a local good cause. This takes the total donated to local charities in JPL Flavours’ 10-year history to in the region of £86,000.
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Joseph Clarke
Senior Editor, International Confectionery
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