Kanes Foods Collapses: More Than 600 Jobs Lost at Evesham Salad Maker After Drought

Updated 14 Nov 2026, 15:14 · First published 14 Nov 2026

More than 600 people have lost their jobs after salad and stir-fry maker Kanes Foods collapsed into administration. The Evesham-based firm, which supplied pre-packaged salads, stir-fry mixes and sauces to several major UK supermarkets, has stopped trading, with administrators PwC blaming years of rising costs and this summer’s drought.

Why did Kanes Foods go bust?

PwC says the business had faced “significant financial and operational challenges”. An equipment failure at its on-site wastewater treatment plant in June 2025 led to £2m of one-off costs and a lasting rise in day-to-day expenses. Then in August this year, drought-related supply problems hit trading during its busiest season, leaving the company with ongoing losses and negative cash flow.

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Directors looked at refinancing and new investment, and a fast-track sale began in mid-September, but “no workable solution was found” and the sale could not be completed in time.

“Kanes is no longer trading”

Staff say the end came suddenly. Despatch team manager Ben Murphy said workers were called to a meeting at 4pm on Monday, where they were told “Kanes is no longer trading”. Production shift manager Ivanka Semerdzkieva, who worked there for 10 years, said she was told by email and that operations had seemed normal until then. Another worker, Muhammad Luqman, said staff had been told only a week earlier that the business would be sold.

Help for workers

On Friday, more than 100 former Kanes staff went to a drop-in jobs morning at fruit importer Primafruit on the nearby Vale Business Park, which is offering about a dozen permanent roles and around 100 seasonal jobs before Christmas. Tilak Raj, who worked at Kanes for 21 years, said he “can’t sit at home with no job”.

Former employees can claim redundancy pay through the government’s Redundancy Payments Service if their employer is insolvent, and Jobcentre Plus offers rapid response support for large-scale redundancies.

Sources: PwC (administrators); Primafruit.