Real Good Food combines bakery and sugar divisions

16-Jan-2009 - Last updated on 16-Jan-2009 at 11:31 GMT

The Real Good Food Company has announced it is consolidating two of its businesses which serve the baking industry to stream-line its management team and build on innovation capabilities.

The company’s sugar division, Napier Brown Foods, and its bakery ingredients division Renshaw will now become one unit, which will be re-named Renshawnapier, based in Liverpool.

The consolidation, which brings the head office and principal business together onto a single site, followed a strategic review by the group which, like other companies in troubled economic times, is reassessing its position.

Stephen Heslop, CEO of Real Good Food told BakeryandSnacks.com that in combining the two divisions, the resulting management restructure would result in a more coordinated approach to selling as they have many common customers.

Currently each of its different units serving the bakery ingredient market are sold separately but in future they will be sold collectively.

And more long-term, the company plans to build its innovations capability.

Heslop said: “Whilst we are in uncharted territory from a market position, clearly there will be a time when the market conditions improve and we want to be well positioned for that.”

The CEO added that the company would also want to expand its product range into related industries. He gave the example of caramel products, which have many uses in many sectors outside of bakery, and it would be looking at how to leverage these positions.

The consolidation comes after Real Good Food, which has forecast reduced profits, recently announced that it will be relocating its London administrative facilities to its manufacturing site in Liverpool in order to cut costs.

Company structure

The consolidation is expected to be cash neutral in fiscal year 2009, but is expected to produce annualised cost savings in the region of £0.8m.

It means the company is now made up of two operating divisions; Renshawnapier and Haydens Bakeries, which will continue to be managed as a separate stand-alone business unit.

Renshaw supplies manufacturers with marzipans, ready-to-roll icings, baking chocolate and jam from its factories in Liverpool and Carluke, Scotland.

Its main customers in the food industry include Premier Foods, Nestle, Finsbury Foods and Greencore.