New factory opens in Winchester producing cereal bars | Hampshire Chronicle

A FACTORY producing healthy cereal bars has opened in Winchester.

Boka Foods, owned by Franco and Caroline Beer, began manufacturing the cereal bars, which are low in sugar, fat and salt, at its £2m, 12,000-square-foot factory in March.

The factory is on Winnall Valley Road in Winnall and has generated 15 jobs.

Speaking to the Chronicle, co-owner Caroline said: "We want to employ more local people. It's not been easy, though, I'll be honest with you."

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The production line (Image: Dave Dodge) There has also been a drive to get involved with other businesses in the area. "We are members of Hampshire Fare because we want to expand the market in the county and work with local companies," Caroline explained.

Boka claims its bars are the only ones in the UK to have a green rating on all four of the traffic light categories: sugar, fat, saturates and salt.

As a nod to his Italian heritage, Franco named the bar Boka which is a play on the word ‘Bocca’ that means mouth in Italian.

The factory was opened after Boka unexpectedly lost its manufacturing partner and struggled to find a replacement. The facility can produce 21 million bars a year and has the capacity to co-pack for other brands who need a manufacturing partner.

The healthy cereal bar business, which launched in 2016, unexpectedly lost its main co-packer in 2022 and then struggled to find an operator that could produce the cold-pressed bars it requires.

The new Winchester factory can currently produce 21 million bars a year with the added possibility of adding another line if required. The new factory is also 100 per cent nut-free.

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Franco Beer, founder of Boka Foods, said: “We couldn’t find a manufacturer that could produce our Boka bars to a high enough standard, so we decided we’d do it ourselves! Converting a warehouse into a fully functioning, SALSA-approved factory in the space of seven months, has been a real labour of love but we’re so proud of what we’ve achieved. Boka has already started work on obtaining BRC accreditation by July 2025.

“We now control the whole manufacturing process which allows us to produce exceptional quality bars, as well as ramping up our innovation pipeline. It also gives us capacity to co-pack for other food brands. This is an area I am keen to explore as I know how difficult it is finding a manufacturer with the skills to be able to make consistently good quality bars at the right price.”

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