With so much change in the UK’s baking industry, maintaining success and consumer popularity requires a mix of resilience, innovation and commitment to quality. Discover from one company’s experience how this combination can build a lasting legacy.
Across a century of change, Britain’s baking industry has continually reinvented itself, through rationing and recessions, evolving legislation, and mounting sustainability expectations. Yet amid this transformation, some principles have stood the test of time, separating those businesses that survive from those that thrive. So, what does it take to build a successful bakery business that lasts?
Founded in Stoke-on-Trent in 1926, Wrights has grown from a doorstep bakery into a leading food bakery business, supplying savoury pastry and sweet bakery to retail, foodservice, and its own bakeries and forecourts. As it celebrates its centenary in 2026, Helen Bowyer, commercial director – foodservice at The Compleat Food Group, home of Wrights (pictured left), shares three challenges, and three lessons learned, that operators can apply to stay relevant and successful in a changing market.
Evolve with the consumer
Consumer tastes are never static. While bakery remains a food staple, expectations around flavour, ethics, and convenience have shifted dramatically. Global cuisines, health-conscious choices, and social media have all reshaped what shoppers want.
Wrights’ answer has always been to balance heritage with innovation. Bowyer explains: “Our Wrights Meat & Potato Pie is still created today using the same 11 store-cupboard ingredients as it was 100 years ago, and is still as popular as ever as one of our top three-selling Wrights pies. Consumers will always want familiar, trusted favourites, but global cuisines have reshaped flavour exploration in bakery.”
The 1990s were a turning point, when Indian food began rivalling fish and chips as Britain’s favourite dish. Bakers were asking: “How can savoury pastry reflect this trend?” Wrights’ Chicken Balti Pie became an answer: “It was inspired by an Indian restaurant adored by the Wright family back in the 2000s,” reveals Bowyer. “A naan-style pastry filled with authentic chicken balti curry, it has become the warming pie of choice, and a fan favourite, on football terraces across the UK.”
“Over the past decade, demand for Instagrammable sweet treats has soared. When people are eating out, they want something truly indulgent”
– Helen Bowyer, commercial director - foodservice, The Compleat Food Group
Fast-forward to today, and indulgence dominates sweet bakery. Consumers want treats that look as good as they taste with bold layers, visible fillings, and show-stopping decoration. “Over the past decade, demand for Instagrammable sweet treats has soared,” notes Bowyer. “When people are eating out, they want something truly indulgent. We’ve invested in capabilities to tap into this important trend, including bakery equipment that can create filled cookies, as well as chocolate enrobing, in the late 2010s.”
Technology drives innovation, but craftsmanship remains key. “Wrights has a specialist team of skilled bakers who hand-decorate many of our best-sellers, ensuring every item looks as good as it tastes,” adds Bowyer. “This blend of innovation and artistry is something we’re proud of.”
Looking ahead, she sees health-conscious options joining the mix: “Bakers should stay true to their heritage while adapting specific innovations that reflect evolving trends, such as bakes with functional benefits like added protein.”
Innovate with purpose
Innovation is often seen as chasing flavours, but the real test is responding to structural shifts in the market. Regulatory changes, cost pressures, and operational constraints can make or break a bakery business.
Rather than seeing changes as challenges, Wrights has always sought to use innovation to solve problems and create new opportunities. Bowyer outlines one example from the mid-1980s, when new legislation required bakers producing meat-based pastries to segregate facilities from bread and cake areas. For small independents, this was a costly challenge. Wrights responded with a pioneering solution: frozen, unbaked savoury products that could be baked fresh on-site, in the same oven as non-meat goods, without breaching the law. As a result, the company became a leading distributor of the now-popular ‘bake-off’ model, an innovation that supported independent bakers and accelerated Wrights’ growth.
Bowyer explains: “Being prepared to look further afield for inspiration can also pay dividends. Exploring international markets can reveal new techniques, not just flavour profiles, that differentiate your offering.”
This proved true for Wrights when former CEO, and grandson of founders, Peter Wright, visited South Africa in 1996. There, he learned about pastry processes that inspired Wrights to elevate its puff pastry quality. Partnering with UK flour millers, Peter pioneered a custom flour specification still used today. “Bakers that thrive are those who look beyond following flavours and embrace new ideas, techniques, and partnerships to set the standard for the future,” Helen says.
Commit to quality
In a market driven by price competition and rapid innovation, maintaining consistent quality is one of the toughest tasks for any bakery. Ingredient variability, new technologies and changing consumer expectations all put pressure on standards - and even established businesses can face setbacks.
Quality should be treated as a continuous process, not a fixed achievement. Helen explains: “From the early days, we’ve had the motto: ‘There’s the right way, and then there’s the Wrights way’. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Quality requires constant investment in people, facilities, and ingredients, and when issues arise, you have to learn and improve.”
“Bakery is a science. Balancing structure, tenderness, and moisture control are crucial to creating award-winning products”
– Helen Bowyer, commercial director - foodservice, The Compleat Food Group
To embed this mindset, Wrights has just launched its flagship Master Baker programme and pastry school for its team. It’s a celebration of 100 years of craft and a commitment to shaping the next generation of bakers the Wrights way: “We deliver workshops internally led by expert flour and fat suppliers to expand knowledge of pastry mixing and the science behind it. These interactive sessions help us address challenges head-on and maintain improvement.”
Facilities matter too. Since 2010, Wrights has invested over £40m to strengthen capabilities, adding freezing capacity, ultrasonic cutters for traybakes, and dual pastry lines for precision and scale.
At the heart of it all is a passion for making perfect pastry. “Bakery is a science,” notes Bowyer. “Partnering closely with suppliers, monitoring ingredient variability across seasons, and balancing structure, tenderness, and moisture control are crucial to creating award-winning products.”
Building a lasting legacy
From humble beginnings to a nationwide presence, Wrights’ story shows that longevity isn’t luck, it’s built on principles that apply to every bakery: respect your heritage, innovate with purpose, and commit to quality always.
As the industry faces new challenges, from sustainability to shifting consumer priorities, these lessons remain as relevant as ever. Because in baking, as in business, the recipe for success is simple: care for your craft, adapt with creativity, and never compromise on quality.
To discover more about Wrights, click here.
