Quorn Eyes Revival Amid Leadership Change, Bringing Former Heineken UK Executive to Serve as CEO

The UK’s leading meat-free business is looking to rebound from a difficult period with fresh leadership, appointing former Heineken UK executive David Flochel as its new CEO. Flochel will succeed Marco Bertacca, who has led the company since January 2020 and will begin his role next month. The two will work together during a transition phase before Bertacca departs.

This change comes after the company, which includes the Quorn and Cauldron Foods brands, reported a significant fourfold increase in losses last year, reaching over $81.7 million. Despite the financial challenges, the company made strategic moves, including rebranding its food service range as Quorn Pro, launching the Marlow Ingredients division to serve B2B clients, and securing a deal to supply mycoprotein to the NHS. Quorn also continues to hold a dominant position, capturing a third of the UK’s meat-free market.

Bertacca took charge just before the pandemic, succeeding Kevin Brennan. During his tenure, he steered Quorn through the difficulties posed by COVID-19 lockdowns, inflation, and cost-of-living pressures, as well as broader industry struggles in the vegan sector. Under his leadership, Quorn began supplying its mycoprotein to other businesses for the first time, boosted food service sales, and introduced its ingredients for blended meat products through a partnership with the NHS.

Monde Nissin CEO Henry Soesanto acknowledged Bertacca’s contributions, noting that his leadership during critical moments in Quorn’s history and his dedication to the company’s mission and values had been extraordinary.

Flochel, who has extensive experience in the food and beverage industry, including roles at Mars, Unilever, and Selecta Group, most recently worked at consumer health company Haleon, where he led the nicotine replacement therapy team outside the U.S. He described 2025 as a pivotal “reset year” for Quorn as it looks to recover from its recent struggles.

In 2023, Quorn’s revenue fell by 7% to $266 million, marking its lowest since 2017. The business hasn’t reported a pre-tax profit since 2021, and despite halving its selling and distribution costs, soaring production expenses severely impacted its gross profit, which dropped from $84 million in 2022 to just $1.8 million last year. Inflation was cited as a major factor, with retail being the hardest-hit channel, where Quorn’s sales declined by 8.6%.

These financial setbacks led the company to restructure its UK operations, resulting in layoffs across retail, supply chain, research and development, and other support areas, as well as cutbacks at its factory in Billingham. In the U.S., the company devalued a $22.2 million investment to zero in 2022 and responded by exiting from several retailers and foodservice locations, reducing marketing expenditure, and downsizing its workforce. Quorn also withdrew from retail markets in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

Despite these challenges, Quorn remains the top-selling meat-free brand in the UK, although its sibling brand Cauldron was recently overtaken by tofu producer The Tofoo Co. as the second-best seller.

Quorn’s difficulties reflect broader issues within the plant-based food sector. In both the UK and the U.S., consumer interest in meat-free products has waned. NIQ data shows that in the UK, chilled meat substitutes saw a 5% decline in sales over the year ending in May 2024, with frozen meat alternatives falling by 6%. In the U.S., Circana reported a 9% drop in retail sales of meat alternatives for the year ending in July 2024.

Investment in the plant-based sector has also taken a hit globally, decreasing by 25% in 2023. By the third quarter of 2024, the industry had only attracted 21% of the funding it received in 2023. These pressures have led to the collapse of several plant-based brands. In the UK, LoveSeitan ceased operations last year after six years of trading, while Meatless Farm and VBites narrowly avoided closure.

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