Chevler has announced it is to introduce a new production planning system, in order to cope with soaring demand for its baking cases and muffin wraps.

Costa Coffee has revealed its plans to open another 130 stores in the UK during 2010/2011, although its main focus will be on expanding its international business.

The UK chain, which revealed an operating profit increase of almost 60% for the full year to 4 March, 2010, opened 312 net new shops over the year, 188 of which were in the UK, increasing its total network by 24%.

The coffee chain also gained 88 Coffeeheaven stores in Central Europe with the acquisition of the Coffeeheaven, which was completed in the final quarter of 2009/2010.

Its international focus will be in the key markets of China, India, Russia, the Middle East and Central Europe, according to parent company Whitbread.

Sales at Costa increased by 23.4%, with like-for-like sales up 5.5%.

The firm said one of the key drivers behind the growth was independent research that showed seven out of 10 coffee lovers preferred Costa’s cappuccino, which Costa subsequently used as a key message in its advertising.

Its flat white coffee has also performed well, with over one million sales since its launch in January this year.

The firm said its UK growth will come from new high street locations, additional stores in established retail outlets, such as its partnership with Tesco and through bringing the Costa experience to hospitals and universities.

Costa currently has 1,600 outlets worldwide.

US machine supplier United Bakery Equipment (UBE) is on a mission to crack the UK market. The automated slicing and packaging equipment specialist plans to raise its profile after installing its first high-performance UBE band slicer at a leading UK plant baker.

Peter Wallin, director of UK partner Habwood Technical Solutions, admitted that a previous version of the machine had struggled to cut softer British bread, but said this had been rectified. “Build design has changed and it now cuts really efficiently,” he said.

The firm will embark on a tour of the major bakers in Britain and Ireland in a bid to convert bakers. “We’re very confident that it will prove successful, as the two people who have trialled the machine, have bought it. UBE fully recognises the importance of the UK market and is determined to make further inroads.”

UBE’s 90-75 band slicer provides smooth, even slicing and is ideal for the British market, according to Wallin.
“Slices are smooth and uniform because the 90-75 moves loaves through the blades at a slower penetration rate. A major benefit is that blades will last between three and four weeks rather than a typical 24 hours.”

The machine sells for between $220,000 (£144,336) and $300,000 (£196,815) depending on the options.

Costa Coffee has revealed its plans to open another 130 stores in the UK during 2010/2011, although its main focus will be on expanding its international business.

Dutch firm Sonneveld, which produces bread improvers, mixes and release agents, is to become part of Orkla Food Ingredients (OFI) in Norway.

Make sure you get your entries in for the Baking Industry Awards before the May 7 deadline. The Awards, now in their 23rd year, celebrate the very best of the British baking industry, and are attended by key players from across the industry.

If you've ever wondered 'is there life after bakery?' then the answer on last week's evidence is 'yes' if you're BB's favourite bakery-boss-turned-sports-impresario and a 'no' if you're the uppety fox who's stepped into his crosshairs.

"In the four weeks of the World Cup, blokes tend to get a bit obsessed with football to the extent that they don't look after their partners. The idea is that in the week before the World Cup, we're saying 'ladies, make sure you get your oats'. What we mean innocently by that is you get to eat oat bread during the course of that week..."

Probably few more preposterous excuses have ever been given than that which was raised at the Birkenhead Police Court this week, where a baker was charged with having stolen a large Genoa cake, the property of his employers.

The moment the starter gun was fired on the general election, Stop the Week dusted off its binoculars to commentate on an eagerly anticipated political race of the campaign: the first politician to claim a bakery-related gaffe.

Machinery: Abacus digital water batching system

Machinery: Schubert TLM (Top Loading Machine)

Machinery: Vantage System

It seems smoothies have had their heyday and other premium drinks categories, such as pure juice, have also taken a knock in the recession. So what have consumers been drinking instead? From much of the data that has been floating around at the moment, it appears that many consumers have been trading down from pure juice to juice drinks.

Known for predominantly supplying the industrial baking sector, Cereform is taking a step out of its comfort zone and targeting the craft industry with a number of new products.

Ashers of Nairn has always been recognised first and foremost as a retail baker, with its shops accounting today for some 80% of total sales. However, the other 20% of its turnover drawn notably from wholesale and the gift sector has provided welcome insulation against seasonal or recession-related swings in retail returns.

This year's celebration of craft bakers is shaping up nicely, with merchandise now available and ambassadors appointed to big-up the baker.

Ladies and gentlemen! Roll-up, roll-up for the 2010 Baking Industry Awards, which scour the country in search of the baking industry's high fliers and success stories. This issue we welcome two new sponsors: Bakels, sponsoring Speciality Bread Product of the Year; and Dawn Foods, sponsoring In-Store Bakery of the Year (see pgs 18-19). As you might have already guessed, the awards, now in their 23rd year, will take the circus as its theme this year, with the presentation evening on 8 September guaranteed to provide all the excitement associated with Big Top entertainment.

Don Williams, CEO of brand and design consultancy Pi Global advises staying in touch with the real world when it comes to innovation

The Scots are very good at baking and shortbread is one of their best recipes. It is made using three parts flour, two parts butter and one part sugar.

An unusual fruit from a native African tree, the baobab, is now available for use in bakery products such as cereal bars, muffins and cakes.

Nortech Foods has joined up with New Britain Oils Limited (NBOL) to offer fully certified sustainable palm oil in a packaged format to food manufacturers.

Fox's has re-launched its Cookie Bars with no artificial colours or flavours. Available this month, the new bars will be targeted at "family chocolate biscuit bar buyers", said the firm.

CSM United Kingdom has launched a new Craigmillar Cookie Mix, designed to give bakers flexibility and add variety to their cookie menu.

What policies are you proposing to assist SMEs and those starting up businesses with accessing credit and business support?

Gordon Polson

The bakery option on a new advanced diploma in Artisan Food Production is over-subscribed as people look to retrain and set up their own businesses.

The low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, which encourages followers to virtually give up eating bread, has been relaunched, with a new book outlining a revised version of the diet and a £200,000 campaign in national newspapers promoting Atkins food products.

Tromp sales office

The qualifying and selection rounds for the 2011 UK SIGEP Bread Cup Team will take place at the Alliance for Bakery Students and Trainees (ABST) annual conference on 12 June.

Two former Dublin bank wor-kers, Graham Clarke and Sophie Morris, who started their own company Kooky Dough, are now supplying 20 stores across Ireland, including four branches of the Superquinn supermarket.

Organic bakery producers have come forward with stories of sales growth in response to the Organic Market Report, which revealed that sales of organic bread and bakery items had plummeted during the recession.

Make sure you get your entries in for the Baking Industry Awards. The Awards, now in their 23rd year, celebrate the best of the British baking industry, and are attended by key players from across the industry.

Scottish firm Tunnocks has invested £4m in new machinery to improve efficiency at its Uddingston site, which produces caramel wafers and teacakes.

Oaty breads are set to become the new battleground in the bread fixture, after Hovis revealed an ambitious £30m 12-month sales target for its Hearty Oats loaf.

NAMB conference

Exports of sweet and savoury biscuits and cakes rose in 2009, according to new report on UK Food & Drink Export Perfor-mance, published by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).

The Scottish Association of Master Bakers has assumed the new corporate identity of Scottish Bakers, as part of a revamp of the organisation's operations. "As part of this, we wanted to create a fresh public image," explained chief executive Kirk Hunter. "We felt it wasn't obvious to the public what the SAMB was all about."

Supermarket sales of speciality bread have bounced back from the recession as shoppers opt to save money by cooking at home rather than dining out.

The Scottish Association of Master Bakers has assumed the new corporate identity of Scottish Bakers, as part of a revamp of the organisation’s operations.

The Scottish Association of Master Bakers has assumed the new corporate identity of Scottish Bakers, as part of a revamp of the organisation’s operations.

“As part of this, we wanted to create a fresh public image,” explained chief executive Kirk Hunter. “We felt it wasn’t obvious to the public what the SAMB was all about.”

Hunter added that the association wanted a new name to better convey what the SAMB does as an organisation. Its new public image will be extended to its publications and website.

All members are now encouraged to actively promote the fact that they are part of Scottish Bakers, although the limited company, SAMB, will still remain intact, as will its traditional logo.

The bakery option on a new advanced diploma in Artisan Food Production is over-subscribed as people look to retrain and set up their own businesses.

The School of Artisan Food in Nottinghamshire is now accepting applications for the two-year full-time advanced diploma, which begins in September, with students able to specialise in baking cheese-making, butchery or brewing.

“We can take a maximum of 25 students each year and we already have nine people who have chosen to specialise in baking. We’re looking at reworking the timetable to provide a few extra places,” said marketing and admissions officer Joe Piliero.

“The feedback we’re getting from applicants is that they want to set up their own deli or café, making fresh bread each day, or their own artisan bakery.”

The bakery side of the course will be headed by Emmanuel Hadjiandreou, currently bakery director at Judges Bakery in Hastings, with practical classes looking at production techniques, as well as fundamental bakery science and microbiology.

Students will also take classes in history, anthropology and the social and political context of today’s food landscape, alongside classes in artisan food business and management.

Based at the Welbeck Estate, which is also home to the Welbeck Bakehouse, a farm shop and Stichelton Dairy, the School of Artisan Food was set up last year offering a range of food production courses.

Scottish-firm Tunnocks has invested £4 million in new machinery to improve efficiency at its Uddingston site, which produces its Caramel Wafers and Teacakes.

The firm spent £2m on new machinery earlier this year, including two foiling machines, two flow packs and a robotic case packer earlier this year. MD Boyd Tunnock told British Baker, the firm then spent another £2m on a state-of-the-art robotics system from Schubert to pack its teacakes, which it is “just bedding in” at the moment. It will be used to pack either six or 10 teacakes to a box, or 12 to a tray.

“We already had four wrapping machines, but Schubert supplied the feeding systems to these wrapping machines as well as the robotic packer,” explained Boyd. He said that the bakery’s previous line had been running for 10 years and was inefficient. “Efficiency has now gone up by 20-25%. We’re using less labour and also getting a bigger throughput,” he added.

Boyd told us that main change has been to teacake production, with five less people needed on the floor per shift. However he said the firm has not made any redundancies and is looking to move from a double shift per day, to three shifts, five days a week.

He said the new machinery is about “long term payback”. “But as a family business we can afford to do that, and we’re willing to do that as we’ll be getting a better end product.” He added that the new machinery gives the firm the ability to increase production, but importantly it will allow it to maintain its current prices.

The firm employs 550 staff, and turned over approximately £35m last year. It exports to over 30 countries worldwide, including Canada, the Canary Isles and Japan.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is in the process of carrying out a review of its high workplace temperatures policy, with a view to drawing up sector-specific guidance for bakery workers, and is looking for craft bakers to voice their views.

The HSE has already had input from a number of large industrial bakeries, but would like to hear from craft bakers on, for example, whether they are aware of the risks that heat can cause in the workplace, and if they have effective systems in place to manage process-generated heat?

“It really is important to us that our guidance is effective and worthwhile and it is vital that any recommendations we might make are not overly burdensome to smaller independent bakers,” said policy advisor Helen Rowlands.

If you would like to find out more about how your input can help, please contact Helen Rowlands on 0151 951 4517 or helen.rowlands@hse.gsi.gov.uk.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is in the process of carrying out a review of its high workplace temperatures policy, with a view to drawing up sector-specific guidance for bakery workers, and is looking for craft bakers to voice their views.

Scottish-firm Tunnocks has invested £4m in new machinery to improve efficiency at its Uddingston site, which produces caramel wafers and teacakes.

Make sure you get your entries in for the Baking Industry Awards before the 7 May deadline. The Awards, now in their 23rd year, celebrate the very best of the British baking industry, and are attended by key players from across the industry.

Devon-based Pipers Farm has signed a deal potentially worth £20,000 to supply a range of bespoke pies to Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Capital FM radio presenters Johnny Vaughan and Lisa Snowdon are fronting a new £3m marketing campaign to promote Kraft’s new Belvita Breakfast brand – a range of biscuits targeting the breakfast market.

Convenience food group Uniq has announced its first quarter group sales were up 4.2%, compared to the first three months of 2009.

Convenience food group Uniq has announced its first quarter group sales were up 4.2%, compared to the first three months of 2009.

Its food-to-go sales, which include its sandwiches wraps and deli-fillers business, increased 12.5%, which the firm said reflected its business wins in 2009, which included £15m worth of new sandwich business with Marks and Spencer.

Sales in its desserts arm were down 2.2%.

The company also announced its preliminary results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2009 on the same day as its Q1 interims. Revenue stood at £287.2m compared with £286.7m in 2009. Food-to-go revenue was up 2% to £136.9m, and operating profit stood at £7.3m - up 0.4%.

In January 2010, Uniq revealed it was back in the black, after increased food-to-go sales saw the business return to positive sales growth. Following the decision to dispose of its French, German, Polish and Netherlands business units earlier in 2009, the business is now focused on the UK chilled prepared food market.

Devon-based Pipers Farm has signed a deal potentially worth £20,000 to supply a range of bespoke pies to Lord’s Cricket Ground.

The pies, which retail for £4.95 each, are made from scratch in the company’s Cullompton kitchen with meat from local farms that has been hung to improve flavour and texture.

Available through the cricket ground’s public bars, the range includes Red Ruby Steak & Mushroom, Pipers Farm Lamb & Mint, Pipers Farm Chicken & Saddleback Ham and, Pumpkin, Goat’s Cheese & Spinach. The deal was secured following several visits from Lords’ chefs to the farm.

“We believe there is an exciting potential to build a substantial relationship with Lords based on the USPs of our two very prestigious brands,” said Peter Greig, owner of Pipers Farm.

Starbucks has teamed up with dairy company Arla Foods to launch two new coffee drinks in the UK.

Starbucks Discoveries chilled coffees and Starbucks Doubleshot Espresso & Milk are ready-to-drink coffee ranges which will be available in all Starbucks outlets from May.

Arla Foods signed a licensing agreement with Starbucks earlier this year, which will see them manufacture, distribute and market the coffee chain’s premium chilled coffee drinks.

The Discoveries range comprises three varieties: Seattle Latte, Aztlàn Mocha Latte (chocolate flavour) and Qandi Latte (caramel flavour).

Both ranges will be made using Fairtrade certified coffee beans and sugar, and will be produced at Arla Food’s subsidiary Cocio Chokolademælk in Denmark.

The drinks will also be available in retail outlets from April.

“We believe there is a real opportunity to transform the ready-to-drink coffee market with this range,” said Arla’s commercial director, Simon Stevens. “Until now there hasn’t been a big brand to drive the category forward but we are confident that with a global brand as established and trusted as Starbucks we can achieve this.”

Sales of organic bread and bakery items have plummeted during the recession, according to the latest Organic Market Report.

Published today, by the Soil Association, the report revealed that bakery has been one of the hardest hit categories with sales down 39.8% during 2009. Organic biscuit sales fell by 19%.

Looking forward however, comparative figures for the year to February 2010 revealed the rate of decline in organic bread had been cut to 9.4%.

According to the report, bread sales fell due to a combination of the economic downturn and “problems with variable product quality”.

“A key concern for 2010 is the uncertain availability of organic flour and other ingredients after the negative impact of a wet summer on the 2009 harvest,” notes the report.

The overall sales of organic produce in the UK fell by 12.9% in 2009 to £1.84 billion. Despite the slump, the Soil Association has predicted a modest market expansion of 2-5% during 2010, in response to “clear signs of increasing confidence amongst consumers” after the toughest economic climate for 20 years.

The study also revealed that in addition to consumers spending less on organic food in the recession, leading retailers also reduced organic ranges and the shelf space designated to them. Waitrose was the least affected supermarket with its organic sales down only 3.5%.

Bread and bakery currently has a 3% share - worth an estimated £40.7m - of the total organic market.

Bread is one of the most commonly bought items from local stores, but shoppers are often disappointed with the shops’ quality and choice, according to a new report from YouGov SixthSense.

Starbucks has teamed up with dairy company Arla Foods to launch two new coffee drinks in the UK.

Sales of organic bread and bakery items have plummeted during the recession, according to the latest Organic Market Report.

lBakers' Review

Bakery-based April Fool of the week goes to Sayers The Bakers for its mock left-handed sandwich, with "the ingredients rotated 180 degrees, redistributing the weight of the sandwich, so that the bulk of them skew to the left". On the packaging, "the door opens to the left". Hats off to them, but Burger King got there first in 1998, when it took out full page ads in the US for a left-handed Whopper...

One of the features of the Baking Exhibition is the fact that bakers from all over the world congregate there. The British Baker stand seems to be the meeting place of all the interesting folk in the bakery world, and it is well for those of us who have to do a bit of writing that it has its secluded portion, where we can work undistracted by the interest we cannot but feel in all the bakers from far and near who are to be found around it. On the stand of the Millers' Mutual Association was an outsized bag filled with flour. Everyone making a donation of three pence for trade benevolence was invited to guess the weight of flour contained in this tremendous sack. Whoever guesses correctly gets the flour as a gift. One tough old baker held it lovingly within his grasp and, with florid face, gave it a hearty wrench to see if he could move it. As it must have weighed about a ton, he did not move it very far. Whoever wins, we hope they will not have to carry it out of the hall themselves!

Launched on 1 April but apparently not an April Fool's gag is the strictly for adults only website Rude Cakes. A spin-off from The Cake Store (www.thecakestore.co.uk), Rude Cakes is following the economy's descent into the gutter by establishing an X-rated emporium.

It has been a long time coming. As part of its tireless efforts to tell us what fashions are going up and what are going down, The Sunday Times' Style magazine last weekend belatedly? led the anti-cupcake backlash.

Verona, the renaissance town of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, home to a summer opera, daily street market and, every third year, Italy's premier baking show.

As is often the case, the creation of a new recipe is a twist on an old favourite or an 'accidental' slip with ingredients. This decadent chocolate pecan pie is our attempt to add something to an already established product. It can be eaten cold, but is better slightly warm. A light dusting of icing sugar can be added to good effect.

Hygienic gloves (A)

What does a raspberry taste like? Well, to give a scientific answer, 13 hydrocarbons, 36 alcohols, 17 aldehydes, 22 ketones, 16 acids and 27 esters.

French bakers or 'boulangers' number around 33,000 in France, says Jean-Pierre Crouzet, president of UIB, the French craft bakers and confectioners association. This does not mirror the decline seen in some other countries, but is still fewer than a decade ago.

Bakery giant Delice de France's MD Ian Toal appears remarkably upbeat on the morning that we meet especially given the fact that Delice's parent group, Aryzta, announced downbeat trading results that were more a Déplaisir de France the same day. Performance in the UK and Ireland was cited as a drag on the group's fortunes, with operating conditions described as especially tough, contributing to a 10% drop in revenue in its European division in the six months to 31 January.

We've all seen them, clinging to the sides of buildings like fading relics of a bygone age. Many of these hand-painted ads still survive, but are quickly disappearing, as weathering and property development overtake them. For the last year a nationwide effort has been under way to archive these 'ghost signs'.

Carrots have been included in cakesfor many centuries because of their sweetness. During the Second World War, carrots were used to add sweetness to dishes because of the shortage of sugar and rationing, which made everyone become inventive with their food.

Richard Hamilton of Hamilton BIG, a creative retail and brand consultancy, considers whether going solo is worth it in shop-fit project management

Umer Ashraf is a young entrepreneur who owns the Glasgow-based iCafé chain of shops, as well as smoothie and juice bar Paradise Bay in Oban, Scotland

There were sparkles to make cupcakes shimmer, hand-raised pork pie demos for purists, ovens with small footprints and big clear programming panels, plus a Smart car for smart buyers of a smart new dough processing line. And the latest craze? Let's hear it for whoopie cakes! Yes, BIE had plenty to interest and entertain, so in the following pages we start to look at some of the new launches and speak to the people behind them.

Pine nuts: The Chinese home-grown crop was smaller than forecast, and the expected supplemental supply from Russia has dried up. With globally warmer weather also apparently impacting on the yield itself, there has been an estimated 60% reduction in supply and prices are now trading at levels over 125% higher than previous highs.

Britvic Soft Drinks Report 2010

Kirk Hunter

Aberdeenshire shortbread and biscuit producer Dean's is seeking to increase its turnover by £3m to £10m by 2012, following a re-launch of its core biscuit range this spring.

Highland-based Nevis Bakery has more than doubled capacity after investing £500,000 in a move to larger premises, enabling it to meet growing demand for its premium biscuits, shortbread and loaf cakes.

The 2.2% rise in the national minimum wage, due to come into force in October 2010, has been slammed by bakers, who argue that it could hamper economic recovery and put jobs at risk.

US franchise sandwich chain Quiznos has seen its retail estate in the UK shrink by nearly two-thirds in the past two years, with its store in Crawley, West Sussex, the latest to close down.

Rumours that Waitrose is in talks to acquire 102-shop sandwich chain EAT fits well with the retai-ler's strategy of moving from being a conventional supermarket to becoming a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brand.

The Europain exhibition, which took place on 6-10 March in Paris, has not issued a final figure for visitors. However, while very busy, the organisers state that, with industry turnover down 30% in France in 2009, it was not surprising French visitors declined by 11% and international by 15% .

New coffee chain Love Coffee is stepping into the gap left by BB's Coffee & Muffins, with a goal for 25 outlets by the end of the year. Former BB's Coffee & Muffins franchisee Shashi Patel, of DJ & C Foods, is planning to roll out the new chain in shopping centre locations across the UK.

Meat pie and pasty producers are unconcerned that they could be forced to disclose ingredients' origins if European legislation gets the go-ahead.

Doughnut Week deal

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has unveiled the first raft of its recommendations for reducing saturated fat and added sugar in bakery pro-ducts, following its consultation last summer.

Fresh produce supplier Country Fresh is looking to build up its new bakery arm into a £1m operation in the next two years.

ISB bread criticism

Warburtons has announced the purchase of North East Bakery's former site in Newburn, after the retail and wholesale business went into administration in December last year.

The Worshipful Company of Bakers is asking employers to urgently put forward candidates for three awards for expenses-paid trips to the renowned Richemont School in Switzerland.

Former Avana Bakeries and Memory Lane Cakes MD Mike Woods has set up a new firm making nut-free celebration cakes.

Jobs at Sunfresh Bakers are safe, after bosses bought the business out of administration.

Hovis hopes to persuade more people to have toast for breakfast, by reminding them of the health benefits of Hovis Wholemeal.

Jackson's MD change

By Patrick McGuigan

Iconic US doughnut brand Krispy Kreme plans to double its number of stores in the UK in the next five years and increase sales through Tesco, as part of a massive £12m expansion plan.

Three years ago, sandwich chain Baguette Express would not have even featured on British Baker's definitive list of Britain's top 75 bakery retailers. But today the East Lothian-based company is the fastest grower at number 20, with 62 outlets across the country, and is eyeing a top-10 place; it has ambitious plans to take on Subway and Greggs as it grows its retail estate to 300 stores over the next five years.

The qualifying and selection rounds for the 2011 UK SIGEP Bread Cup Team will take place at the Alliance for Bakery Students and Trainees (ABST) annual conference on 12 June.

Jobs at Sunfresh Bakers are safe, after bosses bought the business out of administration.

Directors Stephen and Mark Taylor bought its assets and goodwill, safeguarding 140 jobs, and will now trade as Taylors the Bakers.

New coffee chain Love Coffee is stepping into the gap left by BB’s Coffee & Muffins, with a goal for 25 outlets by the end of the year.

TV production company Wall to Wall is still on the look out for a baker and their family to take part in a new programme, labelled a “living history experience” for BBC One.

Wall to Wall, the makers of Edwardian Country House, Who Do You Think You Are? and New Tricks, is hoping to find a lively outgoing family, ideally with at least two children between the ages of eight and 18, to rise to the challenge of living and trading their way through 100 years of British history.

The baker and their family will join other shopkeepers in a parade of shops that will be completely kitted out as they would have been in Victorian Britain - using a Victorian bread oven. Each family will then run their shop as authentically as possible in other key eras of British history including Edwardian, World War Two, 1950s, and 1970s.

Anyone interested in taking part would have to relocate to the town for about eight weeks and be able to reflect on the highs and lows of their experience. Filming will begin this summer, with each programme taking around five days to film.

For more information, or if you are interested in taking part, please contact Michael Fraser on 020 7241 9349, or email michael.fraser@walltowall.co.uk

Warburtons has announced the purchase of North East Bakery’s former site in Newburn, after the retail and wholesale business went in administration in December last year.

Joint administrators, Ian Green, partner and Mark Loftus, director of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP had been looking to sell the business and assets of the company, comprising the 20,000sq ft bakery in Newburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, and 13 retail units.

A spokesperson for Warburtons confirmed that it had purchased the North East Bakery site, which is adjacent to its existing Shelley Road Bakery on Newburn Industrial Estate, saying: “This purchase demonstrates Warburtons’ commitment to the future development of the business in the North East.”

“We are pleased to have secured a sale of the bakery site in a relatively short period of time,” commented Loftus. “It can only be good news for the local economy that Warburtons is the buyer.”

The Newcastle-based firm, run by entrepreneur Greg Phillips, went into administration 22 December after costly rebranding plans and “a disappointing trading performance” saw the firm’s liquidity hit hard.

Bakery and sandwiches are among the top three performing categories for Northern Foods, which announced group like-for-like sales were up 1% on last year.

In its interim statement for the 14 weeks to 3 April 2010, the firm said trading was strong within its Chilled division, with new sandwich business secured with Costa Coffee, due to commence during the second quarter of the new financial year. However underlying revenue for the fourth quarter stood at 2.1% growth compared to 6.3% for the full year. 

The firm announced that Bakery had “continued to see strong trading”, with underlying revenue for the full year up 3%, and for the fourth quarter up 4.1%.

“Our Fox’s Biscuits brand increased its market position following the Christmas trading period and moved up to number two in the UK, with a brand share of 10.7% (AC Nielsen Scantrack 52 w/e 20.02.10),” commented the firm.

Within its Frozen division, underlying revenue fell 9.3% for the year, due to the exit from “low margin business”.

The firm recently announced a major investment in its new Goodfella’s pizza range, with a brand re-launch, including new packaging and an extensive TV campaign, set to commence this month.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has unveiled the first raft of its recommendations for reducing saturated fat and added sugar in bakery products, following its consultation last summer.

It is encouraging the food industry to reduce saturated fat in biscuits, cakes and buns, as well as increase the availability of smaller portion sizes.

The FSA has announced a specific target to reduce the saturated fat content in plain sweet and savoury biscuits, and plain cakes by at least 10%; and 5% in non-plain biscuits and cakes, compared to the level of saturated fat in those products during 2008.

Further recommendations on pastry, savoury snacks, meat products and dairy will follow early in the summer.

The recommendations are focused on those products that the FSA has identified as contributing the most to saturated fat and calories in the diet. However it said it recognises the progress already made by some businesses on reducing saturated fat and added sugar, and also that “there are a number of traditional/niche/seasonal products for which recipes and means of production may limit the scope for reformulation”.

To view the recommendations in more detail click here.

Stephen Greenfield is to leave Jackson’s Bakery in April, having already handed over the role of MD to his successor James Watson, announced William Jackson Food Group.

Greenfield has been managing director of Jackson’s for the past nine years, in which time the company has seen a number of major investments in its manufacturing site, and has grown its sales in the sandwich bread, foodservice and export sectors.

“The Board of William Jackson Food Group is enormously grateful to Stephen for turning around the fortunes of our bakery business and we would like to wish him all the best in whatever he decides to do next,” commented group managing director Norman Soutar.

“Jackson’s is a great company with great people – probably why I have stayed for longer than I first intended,” said Greenfield. “I have no doubt that Jackson’s Bakery will go on to enjoy even more success in the future.”

Anyone wishing to get in touch with Greenfield can reach him via his email address: greenfield499@btinternet.com

Bakery and sandwiches are among the top three performing categories for Northern Foods, which announced group like-for-like sales were up 1% on last year.

The Tree House Bakery set up in Solihull, West Midlands, which has proved a major attraction for adults and kids, has been slammed a ‘dangerous’ by health and safety officials, and threatened with closure.