Dried food supplier Community Foods is looking to increase its foothold in the bakery ingre-dients market with the appointment of a new managing director and the installation of a new fruit-soaking line.
Martin Rome, formally of Whitworth’s, recently took up the position of MD and was joined by another former Whitworth’s employee, Joe Erskine, who was responsible for much of the NPD work at bakery level.
Marketing director Paul Moore said the London-based firm does not have a high profile as a bakery ingredients supplier, but as part of its objective to supply at least 10% of the total vine fruit market in the UK by the end of 2010, it is looking to double its sales and customer base in the baking industry.
Currently, around 50-60% of its £50m turnover is derived from sales in the baking sector. "We do have an increasingly significant business in this field and are determined to expand in this area," added Moore. "We recently invested in and installed a very modern fruit-soaking line for vine fruits, which allows bakers to improve quality and shelf-life of product using this material."
The firm procures and supplies organic and natural dried fruits, nuts, seeds, pulses, grains and branded health foods. It also sells everyday household items, such as washing up liquid, Fairtrade footballs, footwear and balloons.