Prestige Foods is a premier Irish producer of award-winning chilled and frozen desserts, serving major retail and foodservice clients across Europe. As demand has grown, particularly during peak seasons, increasing batch capacity while maintaining quality has become essential.
High Energy Desserts for healthcare form part of Prestige Foods’ product range.
Genier kettles were originally recommended to Prestige Foods by a supplier the company worked closely with. That initial decision developed into a long-term partnership spanning more than two decades.
Beginning with kettles manufactured in 2005 and continuing with several expansions during 2015-2021, and again in 2025 when Prestige Foods invested in set of new 300 litre Genier kettles. Each generation of Genier equipment remains in service, collectively supporting Prestige Foods as it scales productivity to meet growing demand.
“Coming back to Genier is easy as we have built up a great rapport with them over the years. And if something works... well, don’t change it! Genier staff are also very good at offering advice to suit our production needs,” says John O’Connor, Managing Director at Prestige Foods.
Maintenance Manager TJ Galvin and Managing Director John O’Connor with different generations of Genier kettles
As demand increased, older kettles became restrictive for some larger production runs.
“The larger size made a real difference during our very busy Christmas period. We are now producing 300 litres of sauce per batch instead of 150 or 200. That saves a significant amount of time in preparation and weighing,” John explains.
With better equipment in place, production has evolved significantly. Higher capacity and faster heating times have made busy periods such as Christmas and Easter easier to plan for, while maintaining consistent quality standards.
“With the better equipment we can now increase 2 and 3 fold our production with the same number of employees,” John adds.
DOrigin™ is Prestige Foods’ signature retail dessert brand
Operating as a high-risk facility, hygiene and equipment integrity are critical at Prestige Foods.
“Cleanliness, quality and air quality are so important to us. The way Genier have improved their kettles to stop ingress of water and food into the inner workings gives us great confidence in the products leaving Prestige Foods,” John says.
The updated computerised screen has made the kettles straightforward to operate from the outset, with the operations team adapting quickly to the newer interface. John O’Connor also highlights the redesigned tilt function as a practical improvement in daily production.
“The operators find the new tilt function brilliant for emptying products. We can set it to recline slightly after releasing the tilt button, so no product is left hanging over the edge of the kettle.”
From a maintenance perspective, continuity between kettle generations has been a major advantage.
“Once you get used to a Genier kettle no matter what generation you will find troubleshooting and maintaining them very similar,” says TJ Galvin, Maintenance Manager at Prestige Foods.
Prestige Foods still has kettles on site that were made in 2005 and 2006. According to TJ Galvin, the reliability of the newer units installed has been excellent.
“If you asked me why we chose Genier again in 2025, it comes down to reliability. The kettles installed in 2015 and 2021 have been excellent, and the support from Genier’s engineer Aki Ainetdin, especially with our oldest units, has been invaluable,” TJ says.
For TJ, spare parts response time is a defining factor, because fast response reduces downtime risk and gives the maintenance team confidence in planning.
“I have been in the maintenance industry for over 30 years and I can say hand on heart that Genier have the best spare parts response of any firm I have ever dealt with. If I get an order in before 11 o'clock I would have the spare part on my desk around midday the following day,” he says.
Prestige Food's At All & More desserts are plant-based and cooked in small batches
“These two companies over the last 20 years have worked together closely and this has created a bond where we couldn’t see Prestige Foods purchasing other manufacturers’ kettles,” John says.
With proven durability, strong technical development and dependable service support, Genier kettles continue to support Prestige Foods in scaling dessert production while maintaining operational stability.
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