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Greggs toast success at Baking Industry Awards 2012

Greggs the bakers have been awarded the Bakery Food Manufacturer of the Year prize, after achieving with “huge innovation and a major new strategy” in 2012.

The Newcastle-based company formed a partnership with Moto service providers, launched 180 new products in store, and unveiled its lines in 750 Iceland supermarkets this year alone.

Master Baker, John Bailey, celebrated alongside the firm as he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Baking Industry Awards, after spending 50 years working to improve baking methods within the firm.

After joining the company at the age of 20 in 1968, he was one of the first to bake Greggs’ stotties, which are a regional tradition for the North East.

Greggs have made substantial investments of £21.5m in machinery for its bakeries, but continues to capitalise on the talents of its bakers to prepare and finish food by hand.

Judges of the award supported Greggs as the winner in front of over 800 industry members at the event held at London’s Park Lane Hilton.

Ken McMeikan, chief executive of Greggs said: “We listen to our teams of people and constantly ask, ‘How can we do things better?’”

Martyn Leek, Editor of awards organiser British Baker magazine, commented: “The Baking Industry Awards recognise excellence in UK baking.

“Winners have to beat off stiff competition from around the country, so winning one of these awards shows that they really are at the very top of their game.”

The firm currently run over 1,600 shops around the UK, and reported sales increases of 4.5% to £350m in the year up to June 2012.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .