The new office will be the hub for the business’s central and Eastern Europe retail, wholesale and food service customers. Formally opened on 15 August, the office will initially host seven employees across Baker & Baker’s logistics, sales and marketing functions.
Bakery products for Eastern European markets will continue to be manufactured at Baker & Baker’s sites in the UK, Germany and Portugal, and the business will retain its warehousing facilities in Poland.
Demand for UK products
A majority of the products created for Eastern European customers are manufactured at the group’s continental European sites, but a growing demand for its portfolio of flapjacks and brownies produced in Bradford could see production be ramped up in the UK.
Baker & Baker said it was targeting double digit growth as a result of the expanding into the Eastern European market, supported by the hiring of another account manager to manage relationships with food service customers in Poland.
Ryan Perera, international sales director at Baker & Baker (pictured), commented: “We’ve taken our time to ensure our new Polish office meets the geographical and functional needs of our employees and customers. The disruption caused by COVID-19 created a significant delay to the project, as we’ve had long-term aspirations to create a formal presence in Poland.
Innovation opportunities
“Our new office provides us with a hub in Eastern Europe ensures that we are closer to our customers on a day-to-day basis and will allow us to take advantage of new customer and innovation opportunities.”
The new building will also feature a showroom with a small baking studio to provide opportunities for customer meetings and tasting sessions. The launch of a Polish hub represents the latest stage in Baker & Baker’s international growth, following the opening of an office in Dubai last year.
Meanwhile, a Welsh cheesemaker and farmer co-op is set to increase production from 16,000 tons a year to 23,000 tons by 2024 creating 30 new jobs.
