Record delegates for BSB conference
At the British Society of Baking’s Spring Conference, chairman Stephen Ville presided over a record attendance, with effective networking, six top speakers from all sectors and well over 100 delegates!
Speakers included Marks and Spencer’s top bakery developer and their senior buyer. Plus, Geary’s Bakery, known more for the Jason’s Sourdough brand, which has become the fourth highest-selling brand.
Marks and Spencer were key speakers with both their Bakery Product Developer, Harry Peak and Senior Buyer, Eddie McAuley, jointly addressing delegates.They showed their absolute dedication to getting products’ appearance, taste, texture and pricing point just right. Sales are up 65% since 2018! For Harry, ingredients are key. For example, to change Marks’ Pastel de Nata, Harry surveyed the top British competition then went to Portugal to deconstruct the best of the best. Improvements included improved pastry, richer custard and adjustment of cinnamon levels. He applies highest standards across the whole bakery range. The company spent over £3m on their bakeries last year and because of the success, many of its 650 bakeries have seen an increase in shelf space and a 50% introduction of new or changed products.
Senior buyer Eddie, explained the buying process and how data was used, employing the latest technology. This also contributed to new varieties of best sellers such as cookies being developed so buying and development team work well together, e.g. contributing to their 21% cookies’ market share. After their lively presentation, Harry and Eddie were very accommodating to delegates who wanted to say hello or capture their ear – and this was much appreciated by BSB organisers and delegates.
Geary’s Barry Dawber, Sales and Marketing Director, spoke about building the brand, surprising the audience by achieving it without much advertising, but good bread, solid ethics, and plenty of social media. Indeed, free publicity recently included big articles in the Daily Mail, and the The Times!
Jason Geary still heads up the family company. Jason’s famous glasses and face are prominent symbols of the brand across all the range, which is colour coded for different varieties.
The brand, ‘Jason’s Sourdough’ launched in 2020 soon after Barry joined. “It wasn’t a huge vision, we’ve learned as we’ve gone along,” said Barry, modestly. “We knew the brand needed awareness for customers to want to purchase, so knowing we had a good product we needed enough shelf space.” Without big budgets they used ITV’s Backing Business campaign, attended lots of exhibitions using existing staff, then with the addition of social media it was “grassroots communications and graft”.
Social media videos of poached egg and avocado on toast would pull in over 50 thousand followers. Word of mouth helped too. When Barry joined Geary’s his aim was to bring on board new customers and grow the Jason’s brand. With listings now in Booths, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose and a £67m turnover, Geary’s have done just that!
Jade and Chloe Milne’s presentation ‘Donut Mess This Up!’ testified to the pressures but also humour and joy in carrying the Fisher & Donaldson 126 yr-old craft business forward with their sibling brother. From humble beginnings to becoming a World Record Holder with a Royal Warrant they revealed that their current biggest seller is a fudge donut. It sits among 200 new and traditional products across their shops and tearooms in 7 locations in Fife and Dundee. But stand still? Never! Quality ingredients plus handmade goods are key to their success but in 2020 when their uncle and grandfather died they hired a business advisor. As a result they implemented a new management structure playing to their strengths, re-branded and re-fitted the shops, delegated small decisions, increased foodservice to their 3 local universities and visiting cruise ships and ensured staff were trained and valued.
They said: “People are key.” “Communication is the answer to almost every problem.” And “Having a goal is the first step towards progress.” This and more advice pointed to the reasons for their entertaining talk and ongoing success.
For Dina Foods, a Lebanese restaurant business changed to a flatbread making business in 1992 “It was a lightbulb moment,” said Project Director Wilda Hadad, “and the key word was ‘Authenticity’.” Now with over 160 employees, products are sold across the UK and 18 European countries. The Haddad family started with two lines producing Lebanese and pitta breads. Soon they were supplying supermarkets and foodservice, winning a top award in 1995. Production of ‘Paninette’ rose to over 9 thousand pieces per hour. Baklava became a hero product – made with 42 layers of filo pastry to give a real crunch. Customers can choose own-brand or Dina brands. Wilda said the company’s values are: “Credibilty, Integrity, Quality, Service. I would rather lose money than trust.” A current focus on healthier options and collaboration with Hull University on energy usage, are two projects for this go ahead company.
Bart Schmal of Kaak UK delivered a mind-opening talk about The Bakery of the Future. He spoke about Sustainability by Design but pointed out that it must make a return on investment! He tackled Food without Footprints and more automation with less skilled labour. He explained how cutting-edge technology, including AI and automation, is changing the way all efficient bakeries can work – now! Its key role being to optimise production efficiency while leading to a greener more sustainable bakery. He gave examples of energy saving. Plus, waste re-use being transformed into valuable resources, helping both the environment and profitability. His presentation, packed full of detail, earned plaudits from delegates for the examples provided.
Guy Moreton started recruitment agency MorePeople in 2000 with two staff and now employs 40! From shop floor up to exec and non-exec directors, he supplies both the bakery and milling industries and had clients in the conference room. His talk didn’t just cover recruitment but retention too. He stressed the importance of assessing candidates’ ‘attitude’ at interview. He also took delegates through the essentials of induction, and spoke about retention including making the most of communication, training and providing employees with the ‘tools’ to produce the best results for their employer.
British Society of Baking speakers and delegates were welcomed by Chairman Stephen Ville, who presided over the conference and networking dinner. Session chairs were McGhee’s Aisling McGhee and Lesaffre’s Roy Parton while Keith Houliston organised the successful Golf Tournament and after-dinner entertainment.
Next date is BSB Autumn Conference, 8/9 October , The Ardencote Hotel, Claverdon, Warks. CV35 8LT