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The British Society of Baking tackled topical bakery issues at its Autumn Conference: Is bread an ultra-processed food? How to drive growth. How to transform a business. Spotting a gap in the market. Owning and expanding a large artisan bakery. And the psychology of colour in bakery.

Alongside excellent networking opportunities at drinks and meals, the talks provided a platform both for learning and inspiration. A short extract from each looks at taking ideas forward. 

Is Bread an Ultra Processed Food?

The first speaker, Mike Adams, head of product innovation and insights at Campden BRI, tackled bread being portrayed as an ultra-processed food. Taking a neutral stance and giving a science-based talk, he explained the muddle in defining UPF’s. For example, with the Chorleywood Bread Process, does mixing dough fast and adding Vitamin C, make it ultra-processed? 

And to confuse matters, there are no less than 3-5 different classification systems which attempt to define UPF’s! One called the Nova system is gaining wider acceptance. 

An unofficial guide at present is:

*Does it have more than 5 ingredients *Is it made by a multi-national company *Are there ingredients you don’t recognise *Does it have a health claim *Is it wrapped in plastic.

All of these have flaws, Mike said! He also pointed out that many UPF’s can form an important part of a well-balanced, healthy diet such as low-sugar breakfast cereals and, significantly, high fibre bread! 

Some attributes, identified as inherently critical, such as structure and texture, may be challenging to modify. Importantly too, there is little actual evidence of the impact of additives such as emulsifiers on health.  Press headlines are inconsistent and range from stating that UPF’s are linked to an increase of cancer and cardio-metabolic diseases to stating that a certain study linked “UPF’s –not bread and cereal – to poorer health”.  One research paper named beverages and animal products such as red and processed meats as being two key categories already known to carry risks. 

Obviously this talk was expanded much more but it did reveal that the classification of UPF’s and any possible effects of enzymes used in breads on human health are still not adequately known or defined.

Driving Growth, Maintaining Trust

Helen Bowyer is Commercial director of Compleat Food Group, which owns Wrights. The company started 98 years ago with John Wright making meat and potato pies. It used to be widely known as Wright’s Pies but has grown steadily and securely, branching out into making other bakery products and supplying not just consumers but international airlines, foodservice and now major retailers. Meanwhile adding to its bakery portfolio with other snacking foods such as olives, dips, oriental and continental snacking products. The latter expansion taking place under the ownership of great grandson, Peter Wright. 

In 2021 he sold the business to Compleat Food Group, aided by Ian Dobbie Consulting. Helen Bowyer was a visionary employee of Wrights, having started in procurement 8 years ago. But she has seized the opportunity to drive yet more growth while maintaining both companies’ trusted reputation for innovation.

Now commercial director of Compleat, an overall £1bn company, Helen explained the process of integrating the companies, rationalising products and pay structures, investing in automation for de-skilled areas, coping with the impact of inflation plus ways to mitigate its impact. She ensured stability of the supply chair and brought in new, high-level NPD personnel to focus on quality.

All these were key changes and led to opportunities to promote the Wright’s brand, give stronger support to independents through wholesale and to innovate with products more relevant to the next generation. There was also a vital focus on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance).

Other helpful tips which demonstrated her positivity included:

Be aware of the wider market, and stay ahead of the curve. Tap into seasonality/limited additions to drive interest and give consumers the reason to come back to you. Be aware of global innovation / trends and bring influences back into your products .  Social media trends –make products bigger, bolder, more visually appealing. When disposable income is more limited, the ‘treat’ occasion becomes even more important. 

Think of everyday as a school day and work as a team. Ensure you tap into your colleagues / wider network for support, guidance, objective opinion. It boosts team morale to feel involved.

Finally, have a positive mind-set, be solutions focused. Helen emphasised: “ If we can tackle Brexit, record inflation, labour challenges and Covid in the space of 3 years then we can get through anything thrown at us – never underestimate yourself!”

Frank Bird, business award-winning CEO of Hill Biscuits, Ashton under Lyne, near Manchester, recently oversaw the sale of Hill to cereals food manufacturer, Cerealto. The British apparently eat more biscuits per person than any other country. From a small shop in 1855 to a bakery in 1893 Hill is one of the oldest biscuit manufacturers in the UK. It makes custard creams, fruit shorties, bourbons, malted milk, gingerbread men and digestives. Sales in 2022 were £26m, this year they are forecast to be £43m, Hill is motoring. But it has taken a well thought out strategy to get it there; one which relies on operational excellence, attention to detail, vision, a caring attitude to colleagues and customers, a listening focus towards all and flexibility. Frank Hill says he has gone for the gaps with 10 fundamental criteria. These include investing in people by supporting a ‘growth mind-set’ through training, diversity and inclusion at all levels. Investing in equipment and processes using data to hunt for efficiency. Reviewing practices and systems to improve ways of working and a ‘right first time’ approach. Using data to analyse progress and support decisions in other words, seek the solution, not the problem. Work with suppliers to enhance quality, improve cost and supply chain efficiencies. Drive innovation, be agile, know your market but listen to your customers. And have some fun on the journey but bring people with you.

‘Going for the gap – and Nailing It’ was the title of Rhiain Gordon’s presentation. The young entrepreneur had already won Scottish Baker of the Year but hearing how her business started, listening to her enthusiasm and observing her business acumen inspired many. She began after losing her job during Covid, having previously worked in hospitality, at a bakery and as a barista. 

Looking back, she realised how much she’d enjoyed baking with her granny. Looking forward she began baking at home, believing there was a gap for originality and quality and sending out her products by post. By the time life had re-started, Rhiain had opened her own bakery and shop in Leith, selling mostly cookies and brownies. Now she’s opened a second shop in Portobello. With a fun and active presence on social media, including over 35 thousand followers, she shows the products as well herself and team members, because ‘people support the person as well as the business’. Her top tips for success are to provide really good customer service, for example ask them how their day is going. ‘Engage’ on social media, ‘look after your team’ – she organises outings, pays fair wages and there is no night work. Rhiain also suggests tailoring training to the individual, being flexible when it comes to tasks, having a good support network – and drinking caffeine!

Steve Magnall is owner and MD of Two Magpies Bakery. With 10 outlets cross Norfolk and Sufolk?? his mission is clear: ‘To be the best independent artisan bakery, producing bread, pastries and savoury products by hand using only the finest raw ingredients’. He says that all products are lovingly made by hand in line with the company’s values of authenticity integrity and care.

Steve employs over 100 artisan bakers, pastry chefs and baristas and started out over 30 years ago with a food science degree and  an MBA. With a background leading strategic success in company’s such as Greene King, he bought a 50% share in Two magpies in 2018 and then became sole owner and MD in 2023 building up the business with the help of operations director, Yasmin Wyatt. 

Steve took delegates through his 10 point NPD system which includes hero products such as sausage rolls, croissants and full English breakfast that don’t change, hero products that do change: e.g.  brownies, Danish and donuts,  introducing new products every two months removing slower selling ones, planning 4 months ahead and using what is seasonal. At any one time they can have up to 80 different products, all costed and worked out for allergens and calories!

Steve’s leadership style is to pay above the minimum wage, while training is three ways: online, internal and external. He says: “My comment about leadership is ‘use your gut instincts but listen to the (financial) numbers because many a business has failed due to cashflow issues and vanity.” His labour costs are high but so is the business’s reputation. His company has won Suffolk’s Retailer of the Year, Best Bread in Britain, Best Sweet Product in Britain, and at BIA, Employer of the Year. Ideally he’d like to get to 40+ outlets comprising a mix of Magpies and Mini Magpies (cafes) .

If it comes down to his passion and drive, plus the economy is healthy, it seems that Steve’s bakery ‘where everything is made by hand, daily’ stands a winning chance.

Bakers know how to use colour but inspiration is always welcome and without doubt it helps to trigger sales when we ‘eat with our eyes’.So understanding what emotions colours inspire in baked goods can only give vendors an advantage if used effectively.We can all associate orange (pumpkins) with Halloween, red with Xmas, yellow with Spring and, well, er blue with summer?

Emiio Saklambanakis of Oterra,which supplies natural colours, is a colour specialist when it comes to psychology. He explained to delegates the power of colours and the different emotions that colours can trigger. For example:  People make decisions in the first 90 seconds after interacting with products, 70% of decisions are made in front of the shelf.  Pink is a very positive colour.  It symbolises creativity, femininity and calm. Orange is flamboyant, freedom and playfulness. Peach offers, comfort, being good-natured, happy and optimistic, while black alludes to passion, sophistication, power and style. Blue was less associated with bakery until blueberries became a big hit and now Oterra will be introducing a new ‘Jungle Blue’ designed to catch people’s attention. Emilio explained that it comes from the Jagua fruit, Genipa americana and Oterra developed and patented the extraction process for the colourant. It is similar to a denim blue and of course mixes well with other colours, especially greens and purples. The future is where your imagination takes you!

All the sessions were very ably chaired by Ian Dobbie of Ian Dobbie Consulting and Hannah Sibley of Aryzta who introduced the speakers and handled the many questions for speakers at the well attended BSB Autumn conference. The Spring event will be 16 April at the Cotswold Hotel and Spa Chipping Norton with an optional golf day plus a networking dinner on 15 April.

BSB 2024 Spring Conference report by Sylvia Macdonald

One of the British Society of Baking’s most successful conferences of recent years took place at the Cotswold Hotel in Oxfordshire in April. It attracted well over 100 high-level delegates and resulted in more than ever before signing up to become members!

For sporting golfers there was a competition held the previous afternoon. Then in the evening, after a BSB pre-conference networking drinks reception, chairman Stephen Ville hosted a dinner for conference delegates staying overnight.

Topics

The following day, speakers tackled six diverse topics. These ranged from how Lidl supermarket is achieving outstanding success in bakery giving it market leadership; the latest pastry trends; the benefits of a new bakery enzyme; how to achieve entrepreneurial growth in the free-from cake market; key practices and stages to follow during new product development; plus the benefits of sustainable and regenerative farming for millers and bakers.

Delegates were keen to ‘Learn about LIDL’ as Lidl’s head of buying – bakery, Holly Bleach, explained that she oversees a team of buyers responsible for bakery and snacking, including: In-store bakery, bread, cake, confectionery, biscuits, and more. Her role touches on every stage in the lifecycle of a product, including product and packaging development, agreeing commercials with suppliers and monitoring the performance of ranges! She’s also heavily involved in business strategy projects, including LIDL’s ‘Next Level Bakery’ project. While aiming for best consumer prices she explained that quality and choice are paramount and gave delegates examples of the company’s thinking and way of working, with results propelling the company to market leadership, securing an 18.2% share for the first quarter of 2024.

A number of speakers addressed their talks to in- attendance delegates only, so full details cannot be published. However, in the technical paper, Gilbert Van der Wal of IFF, explained that bakery producers are seeking to balance production costs with product quality, in the face of ingredient supply issues and global economic instability. But, at the same time, consumers are demanding ‘healthier, label- friendly offerings’ at an affordable price. He explained how he believes bakeries can tackle these situations and maintain competitiveness with a new enzyme that contains a patented innovative phospholipase, designed to meet such needs The robust Q & A session that followed revealed some skepticism but also gave assurances.

Stéphanie Brillouet of Delifrance unveiled fresh consumer insights into viennoiserie products both in and out of home. The key trends revealed an increasing appetite for pastry products on the go, as well as latest flavour and fillings trends aimed at maximising sales opportunities.

Everyone loves an entrepreneur and Mike Woods has certainly proved to be that. His talk entitled A leap of faith! showed the steps he took in leaving a lucrative job to set up his own allergy-free cake company, Just Love Food. It’s taken money, courage and and that giant leap for Mike to start his own business. When two of his children were diagnosed with life threatening nut allergies the former MD of Avana Bakeries and Memory Lane Cakes, set up his own nut-free factory and developed a range of prizewinning cakes free-from a challenging 13 of the 14 allergens! Now, with listings in major supermarkets and demand elsewhere, it proved an inspiring talk of triumph over adversity.

Wild about Wheat! was a much-anticipated paper by Andy Thomas, Head of Grocery at Wildfarmed, responsible for managing the regenerative farming company’s imminent launch into national grocery at Waitrose. It also supplies other major retailers and is working on key partnerships. Wildfarmed’s priority is ‘soil health’. Andy explained how, upon meeting the founders of Wildfarmed, he had his epiphany. He realised the impact on UK landscapes of the flour within the bread that we consume in such abundance. And importantly, the exciting emergence of an alternative regenerative farming system that prioritises soil health.

The final series of talks and Q&A’s centred around New Product Development. Bakels’ Mark McCormack led delegates through 5 key ‘gates’. Should an idea be pursued? Scope it out, build a business case and decide if it is still viable and attractive. Then develop it and decide if you can commit fully. The fourth stage involves testing and validation and the fifth is to ensure you are ready for launch, the launch itself and the post launch review.

The creative side was considered by Daniel Sanders head of product development at Hovis. He emphasised a focus on innovation, which has helped the company’s craft and artisan-style bakery products approach £20m sales in just three years.

Aisling McGhee of McGhees Bakery leads the team’s product costing and pricing proposals, as well as being heavily involved with all aspects of the NPD process. She explained the complexities of balancing ingredients and production together with the vital issues of product pricing.

Stan Cauvain the cereal and bakery scientist, founder of consultancy, Baketran, placed an emphasis on achieving optimal quality using correct processes. These are vital to achieve success in cost-effective development of new products.

The sessions were chaired by David Yates, MD of Luke Evans bakery and Chairman of Bako, who we learned in his spare time also breeds Shire horses! Plus marathon runner Paul Turner, Global Accts Director of Kerry Foods.

Autumn ‘24 Conference – Reserve your place NOW!
The BSB Autumn Conference at Ardencote Manor Warks, takes place October 9/10. The British Society of Baking hopes to see you there! Contact: Sharon Byrne at bsb@freeuk.com

BSB Spring Golf Day
Bakels’ Ambassador Keith Houliston says: “The BSB Golf Day has been ongoing since 1990. It took place at the conference venue of the Cotswold Golf & Country Club, Chipping Norton, which proved to be popular choice and the course was in excellent condition. The weather was kind to us on the day and the feedback was very positive. It also encouraged golfers to attend conference the following day, adding to its success.”

Among top prizewinners, the BSB trophy went to Ben Hutchinson of Calibre Control