Tetra Pak Factory OS tech makes Northern European debut at Heler Foods facility in Nantwich, Cheshire
Tetra Pak is working with British firm, Heler Foods, to create what is pitched as one of Europe’s most advanced cheesemaking plants using technology platform Tetra Pak Factory OS. This will mark the first time such tech has been installed in a Northern Europe creamery, with the new facility scheduled to be commissioned by January 2028.
The platform will provide real-time time monitoring of processing equipment, allowing it to autonomously adjust, with the aim of optimising cheese yield, improving product consistency, and enhancing operational efficiency.
Katrin Andersson, Managing Director North Europe at Tetra Pak, says: “At a time when food and beverage producers are under pressure to deliver savings across their operations, smart adoption of high performing equipment and AI driven manufacturing is key to future-proofing factories and providing certainty in an increasingly volatile market.”
“Businesses like Heler Foods are at the forefront of this, embracing our leading Tetra Pak Factory OS system as the future of food manufacturing. This deep customer collaboration combines the Heler family’s heritage in cheesemaking with the very latest in Tetra Pak’s automation and digitalisation capabilities to enhance food and beverage production, transforming their Nantwich creamery into one of the most advanced in Europe. This means less energy, less water and less waste, helping to take Heler Foods to the next level of efficiency, growth and quality.”
George Heler, CEO at Heler Foods, comments: “This investment underlines our long term commitment to British cheesemaking. As a family business now in its third generation, we have always believed in reinvesting back into the future of the company and continuing to push forwards. This latest investment is another major step in that journey.”
“We are incredibly excited to be partnering with Tetra Pak on what will become one of the most advanced and technologically sophisticated cheese plants in Europe. The implementation of Factory OS will place us at the forefront of cheese quality, consistency, and process control within the industry. As consumer expectations continue to evolve, precision in cheesemaking becomes increasingly important, particularly within healthier and functional cheese products. With the strong growth we are experiencing with flagship high protein brand Eatlean Protein, having world class process control and consistency is more important than ever. This investment gives us the platform to continue innovating and growing for decades to come.”
Developed in collaboration with Accenture, Tetra Pak Factory OS is supported by an ecosystem including Siemens, Rockwell Automation and Inductive Automation.
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Automation will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
