We compare business gas and electricity from 20 plus suppliers for small food manufacturers and co-packers. Typical bills run £6.8k to £62.2k a year and businesses that switch with us save 40 per cent on average, typically 30 to 50 per cent. The figures on this page are estimates from published UK benchmarks, not quotes.
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What a typical small food producer uses and pays across the UK, from published benchmarks.
Figures are estimates from published UK benchmarks priced at 25p/kWh electricity, 7p/kWh gas and about £365 a year in standing charges. They are not quotes. See how we estimate.
Independent producers making sauces, ready meals, snacks, dairy, preserves, meat or plant-based products, plus co-packers filling and packing for other brands. Jacketed kettles, ovens, pasteurisers and filling lines, with cold rooms, blast cells and freezer stores running around the clock.
Cook and cool cycles where a jacketed kettle and a blast cell fight each other on the same meter
Cold rooms and freezer stores drawing power through nights, weekends and quiet weeks
Compressed air leaks running continuously across the packing hall
Contracts priced for a light industrial unit when the site is really a cold chain operation
Typical equipment loads across bakeries, breweries and food production, with annual kWh and cost bands from published benchmarks.
| Equipment | kWh a year | Cost a year (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| Deck, rack and tunnel ovens (gas) | 30,000–300,000 kWh | £2,100–£21,000 |
| Electric convection, combi and roasting ovens | 8,000–45,000 kWh | £2,000–£11,250 |
| Provers, retarders, dough mixers and depositors | 4,000–20,000 kWh | £1,000–£5,000 |
| Refrigeration, walk-in chillers and cold stores | 10,000–90,000 kWh | £2,500–£22,500 |
| Steam boilers, coppers, stills and jacketed kettles (gas) | 20,000–350,000 kWh | £1,400–£24,500 |
| Glycol chillers, compressed air, extraction and lighting | 8,000–60,000 kWh | £2,000–£15,000 |
Fix compressed air leaks first. A small food unit typically wastes twenty to thirty per cent of its compressed air, and that is pure electricity out of the wall.
Run blast chilling in full loads and outside your cooking peak so you are not paying a demand charge for both at once.
Check cold room door seals, strip curtains and auto-closers. Doors left open are the single most common cause of runaway refrigeration cost in small units.
Insulate steam lines, jacketed vessels and hot water storage, and audit steam traps annually.
If you took the unit on a landlord's supply, check whether the meter is in your name. Many co-packers are on deemed rates they could leave at thirty days notice.
Illustrative example
Deck ovens on from 4am with a shop out front
Ovens are most of the gas, proving and refrigeration most of the electricity, and both start before dawn.
Illustrative example, not a real customer. Figures are estimates based on published UK benchmarks. See how we estimate. See all worked examples.
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Switching your energy supplier is just the start. Our team can help you reduce consumption too — with expert energy audits, LED lighting upgrades, refrigeration optimisation, and solar PV installations.
Get a comprehensive analysis of your energy consumption with actionable recommendations.
Learn moreUpgrade your heating systems with smart controls to reduce waste.
Learn moreOptimise your fridges, freezers and cooling systems for maximum efficiency.
Learn moreGenerate your own electricity and slash daytime energy costs.
Learn morePart of the Smart Energy group — trusted by businesses like Bargoed YMCA and Treforest Football Club for energy efficiency solutions across Wales and the UK.
Get a tariff matched to how a small food producer actually uses energy: the equipment, the hours and the fuels on your meters.
