On the outskirts of Oldham lies Park Cakes, the bakery supplier behind M&S’ recently launched gluten-free Colin the Caterpillar cake.
Available in more than 400 stores and via Ocado, sales of the cakes – which join the retailer’s Made Without Gluten range – surpassed 10,000 in the first five days of its rollout last month, exceeding expectations.
Park Cakes is one of seven M&S “fortress factories” across the UK. These are dedicated sites operated by longstanding suppliers that are focused exclusively on creating the retailer’s products – forming part of its ongoing commitment to supporting and investing in British suppliers.
The partnerships are designed to fast track the product development process, allowing the retailer to innovate at speed. Meanwhile, long-term agreements give suppliers the confidence to invest in new technology and facilities.
M&S’ relationship with Park Cakes dates back over 80 years, beginning with Eccles Cakes and now spanning over 200 products, including the iconic original Colin the Caterpillar cake which was launched in 1990. Today, over one million Colins are sold every year and M&S products account for 85% of the output of Park Cakes’ Oldham site.
For the latest challenge of creating a gluten-free Colin, M&S turned to the “fortress” supplier again.
After months of working together to perfect the recipe, Park Cakes invested £1.5m alongside a smaller investment from M&S to create a “factory within a factory” – including a brand-new fully enclosed and segregated production line, from baking to packaging, to ensure no cross contamination.
Over 50 Park Cakes colleagues work in the dedicated gluten-free bakery during a shift and each cake is hand finished to ensure absolute precision ahead of a final quality check.
M&S is expecting to sell over 150,000 each year, however the joint investment with Park Cakes means that capacity in the factory can treble as needed to meet demand.
“Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at M&S Food – and our fortress factories give us an edge,” commented M&S Food managing director Alex Freudmann. “We want to excite and surprise customers, while never compromising on quality or taste.
“By investing in British manufacturing in this way, we’re able to build lasting relationships with our suppliers and support jobs across the supply chain. Demand for gluten-free products is only growing and it’s brilliant that now even more of our customers can enjoy a British icon,” he added.
The new caterpillar cake had been the top request across M&S Food’s social channels with 37 M&S colleagues contacting CEO Stuart Machin directly via his Straight to Stuart suggestion scheme to share the idea.
Jason Warner, commercial controller at Park Cake Bakeries, said they couldn’t say no to the request to make a gluten-free Colin. “From building a brand-new production line to trying different ingredients to get the perfect sponge roll, there have been some challenges, but we know customers are going to love it,” he expressed.
“We’ve grown a real partnership with M&S and that provides us with certainty and security – allowing us to keep investing in the business, taking on these new projects and ultimately, delivering the best possible products we can. 80 years on, seeing the product we helped make on the shelves of M&S is still the best feeling.”
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