BSB conference

Source: BSB

Bakery specialists from Tesco and Finsbury Food Group are among the line-up of speakers to be revealed for the British Society of Baking’s (BSB) autumn conference this year.

Taking place on Tuesday 12 October at the Ardencote Hotel in Warwick, the conference will explore the theme ‘Growing your business’.

Here is the full line-up for the day:

Technical paper: Bakery applications and image analysis

Paul Cliffe, MD of Calibre Control, will be revealing the latest advances in C Cell technology and digital imaging.

Mimi's Bakehouse in Edinburgh founder Michelle Phillips

Source: Mimi’s Bakehouse

Michelle Phillips

Growing from a standing start

Michelle Phillips of Mimi’s Bakehouse wants people to feel ‘hugged as they come in the door’ but to realise her vision of having her own bakery she had to sell the family home. Now, having beat 70 entrants to become Scottish Baker of the Year, Michelle and daughter Ashley will reveal some truly original secrets of this now thriving craft and online business.

Tesco: Our new vision for bakery

The retailer’s in-store category buying managers Amanda Hart and Nicola Jamieson are set to discuss their ambitions for growing Tesco’s bakery business and that of its suppliers.

Matthews Cotswold Flour: From crisis to success, building business

Managing director Bertie Matthews will talk attendees through how the flour firm went from entering a CVA in 2017 to the thriving business it is today. He will outline how it was achieved, what is the necessary mindset for growing your business, and what the levers and processes were for success.

Transformational change and turnaround

Mark Cooper, MD of Executive Solutions consultancy, will talk about his latest assignment and contrasts it to wider bakery challenges. Questions to be explored as part of the presentation include: What is a typical checklist for an assignment? What vital tips and techniques have been learnt after nearly 25 years as a turnaround expert?

Driving growth in the cake market

Simon Staddon and Ben Kisby, group business development director and group head of category & insight at Finsbury Food Group respectively, reveal what is happening in the UK cake market. They will discuss the latest trends, what drives innovation, what is the journey from initial idea to launch and, importantly, what are the future opportunities and challenges.

The conference is preceded by the BSB annual general meeting and a dinner the night before.

Tickets can be booked via the BSB website.