Cheshire-based Roberts Bakery has extended its customer reach, with a new deal to distribute from the Corby site of logistical firm Bibby Distribution.

The deal means Roberts will deliver a starting figure of 20,000 products a week to the Corby site, from its Cheshire and Derbyshire plants. Bibby will then pick up, pack and deliver the products to customers.

Four routes are currently up and running, delivering to 108 supermarkets and convenience stores in Leicester, Coventry and the M1 corridor. A fifth route is due to be added shortly, which will add another 28 customers.

Roberts initially secured a deal in November to distribute from Bibby’s Scunthorpe site, which gave them access to customers in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The company is looking to extend its reach even further in the future by utilising other Bibby sites, but says it wants to “go step by step”.

Mark Owen, logistics director at Roberts Bakery, said: “First Scunthorpe and now Corby – we are proving that a third-party logistics approach to warehousing and distribution can bear fruit. We plan to increase routes from Corby in the future and are saving food miles in the process – over 370km a day so far.”

Confidence in the model

Ian Firth, divisional development director at Bibby Distribution, said: “The team at Corby has already benefited from the experience of their colleagues in Scunthorpe and has hit the ground running.

“There is a lot of confidence in the model and, as it’s rolled out elsewhere, each phase will become easier to implement. It’s an exciting vision that we are delighted to support with our flexible approach and national reach.”

The deal has seen eight new jobs created at the Corby site, and Roberts said it expected more as the relationship with Bibby progresses.

Roberts Bakery recently began selling wholemeal loaves in pink packaging to raise money for cancer charity Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention.