Company History:
In 1980 Raymond Coyle was supplying Tayto with potatoes he grew on his family farm just outside Ashbourne, Co Meath. Today, he owns the company! The recent acquisition of what is Ireland's iconic crisp brand makes Largo Foods the dominant domestic player in the Irish crisps and snacks market. It's a long way from what was an almost accidental venture. When Raymond Coyle lost his potato supplier contract with Tayto, he decided to take a piece of the action himself. "Tayto decided to cut their contracts with certain people and I was one of those people," he says. "At the time, I said to myself that, with Tayto holding 90 per cent of the market, there had to be some money in it."
Largo Foods was established in Ashbourne, County Meath by Raymond Coyle in 1983. The first brand name used was “Cottage Crisps”. The breakthrough for Largo Foods came when the Capaldi family agreed to sell the Perri brand in 1984, a move that put Largo Foods on the radar in the industry. Largo Foods followed this acquisition in 1995 by acquiring the “Sam Spudz” brand.
Irish Snack Foods, based in Donegal, was Largo Foods next acquisition in 1996, bringing the number of production facilities to two. The Donegal plant dedicated its expertise to extruded and fried snack manufacturing whilst the Ashbourne plant became a solely potato crisp manufacturing site.
In the early 2000s, Largo Foods began producing some of the crisps and snacks volume for the then owned C&C brands, Tayto and King. Company growth was also aided from winning private label business with large multiple retailers in the UK market, namely Tesco and Morrisons.
In 2005, Tayto closed their crisp factory and Largo Foods won the contract for the entire business. The story continues in August 2006, when Largo Foods were successful in their bid to purchase the Tayto and King brands from Cantrell and Cochrane for €62m.
The Tayto acquisition turned Largo Foods into the number 1 snackfood company in Ireland.
At this time, Largo Foods has a turnover in excess of €90 million. It is the largest manufacturer of snack foods on the island of Ireland and is the brand leader of snack foods in the Republic of Ireland.