The Global Supply Chain - Our mission to identify cost-effective, high-quality ingredients
By Becky Webster, purchasing manager at BFP
In response to the unprecedented challenges and cost escalations the baking industry faces, BFP is determined to support our bakers and help them to navigate their way through these challenging times.
The recent unprecedented increases in the sugar and vine fruit commodity markets are a prime example of how even the most basic ingredients are being affected thus we have broadened our global supply chain.
To continue to offer our bakers the best quality at affordable prices, we’ve been scouring the globe in search of new suppliers and forming alliances with some of the world’s leading manufacturers. These alliances enable us to provide our bakers with unparalleled access to top-tier, high-quality products at exceptional value.
I’m thrilled to bring these products to the UK, and am sure our bakers will love these new products as much as we do.
It’s been a busy time for the BFP purchasing and technical team, and they’ve been working hard conducting stringent quality checks and product trials on all of the new lines. The consequent product trials and positive feedback on the new samples have provided the confidence that these will be great products for our bakers. With this reassurance, we have introduced these lines to our everyday stocked range in every BFP depot, servicing customers nationally.
With over 400,000 square feet of chilled and ambient storage capacity, we are able to import product in bulk, consequently achieving the very best pricing possible for our bakers and ensuring consistent supply.
Our latest additions through our Global Supply Chain.
We’re very proud to be working with our two newest brands - Angel Yeast and Dragsbaek – and we’re sure they’ll be great additions to our portfolio. Angel Yeast was founded in 1986, they are one of the leading companies in the worldwide yeast industry. With plants in Europe, Asia and Africa (amongst others), they are industry leading. Dragsbaek was founded in 1923 and they are truly experts at what they do. They are a modern food company from Denmark specialising in a wide variety of box fats for artisanal bakers. |
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Grape expectations
We supply huge volumes of raisins, sultanas and currants, which we import from Turkey and Greece. Fruit from these countries is the specific preference of our customers. However, this sector has been in turmoil this year as a result of disastrous weather. Some farmers reported they’d lost up to 50% of their yield and, as a result, demand increased and so did prices. As a company, BFP is shouldering a lot of this burden and we’ve been able to negotiate some good deals with our key suppliers, but we’ve also looked at other secondary origin markets such as China, Iran and South Africa. As a result, bakers now have two options: continue to buy the significantly higher priced Turkish and Greek origin product, or adapt to a specification change and embrace the slightly smaller, drier grade of the secondary origin product that is cheaper and more readily available. |
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