Funding and support have helped enhance production capabilities at two Welsh bakery manufacturers.
Flintshire-based sweet treat supplier The Pudding Compartment recently secured £75,000 from BCRS Business Loans to enable it to drive efficiencies and increase capacity through purchases of new machinery like ovens, mixers, and depositors. It has also extended its production and warehouse space.
The company – founded in 2007 by Steve West and operating out of a unit on Manor Industrial Estate in Flint – currently supplies cookies, cakes, biscuits, and traybakes to the travel, foodservice, and B2B sectors, but intends to move into co-manufacturing products for retailers as well.
“We now have the resources to continue growing aggressively while maintaining the quality and creativity our customers expect,” commented West, who worked with James Pittendreigh, business development manager at BCRS, to secure the funding.
BCRS manages the smaller finance options (£25k to £100k) as part of the £130m Investment Fund for Wales, backed by British Business Bank. The Pudding Compartment previously secured a £100k loan from the Development Bank of Wales in 2023 to help ramp up capacity.
A crust above
Donald’s Pies in Cardiff has successfully brought manufacturing in-house and increased its production capacity tenfold through technical support from The Helix Programme.
Having been launched by friends Gareth Owens and Harri Rees 18 months ago inside a van at Radyr Cricket Club, the brand has grown to open two permanent retail shops and a growing wholesale business. It has now ended the need to outsource manufacturing its pies with the rental of a new dedicated production site within Food Centre Wales on Penarth Road, capable of producing up to 250,000 units per year.
As part of The Helix Programme – the recently relaunched Welsh government-funded project that provides technical support to food and drink manufacturers in the region – Donald’s was helped by Food Centre Wales technologist to develop a scalable pie recipe
The company was also assisted with a HACCP food safety management plan, microbiological testing, and nutritional and labelling guidance to ensure compliance. Zero2Five Food Industry Centre at Cardiff Metropolitan University also offered support to design a safe and optimal layout of the new manufacturing unit.
Donald’s is now looking to land new wholesale partners, including pubs, sports clubs, and tourist attractions across Wales and beyond.
“The combination of support with product innovation, operational efficiency and robust food safety management systems has helped the company to establish a strong and sustainable foundation for continued growth,” said Angela Sawyer, agri-food centre manager at Food Centre Wales.
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