Dawn Farm Foods, the Kildare-based manufacturer of cooked and fermented meats for the food service and food manufacturing sectors, is to invest €25m over the next five years to enhance the company’s research and development (R&D) capability at its Naas facility. As part of the process, an additional 150 jobs will be created, with roles from graduate level to highly qualified food scientists and meat technologists.

Dawn Farm Foods chief executive Larry Murrin said this significant capital investment will enhance the company’s capacity to research consumer trends, develop new products and develop new production technologies.

“Developing new products to meet changing consumer tastes has been at the heart of the growth of this firm for over 30 years,” added Murrin.

Last month, Dawn Farm Foods announced it had signed a new seven-year contract to supply cooked meats to more than 4,000 Subway restaurants in Europe. Dawn Farms say the deal has an export value of €850m.

The company has been supplying Subway with cooked meats since it opened its first European store in 1993. The previous supply contract between the two was signed in 2010 and valued at €700m.