Flatbread company Strong Bread is hoping to supply its first Big-Four supermarket, as it quadruples the size of its bakery.
The bakery will potentially be supplying Asda with its products later this year, following successful talks with the company at trade show IFE.
The bread would be stocked as a fresh food product in the ethnic food aisle, as well as the main bread offering. This comes as the brand looks to build on its retail business, while also growing its foodservice arm.
Any retail expansion will be supported by the firm’s new bakery, which is four times bigger than its previous site at around 15,000sq ft. The new bakery is based in Rayleigh, Essex, from where the brand operates.
The firm also invested in a rebrand, including a new website and look for the products.
Glyn Strong, founder of the company, said: “With people moving away from regular sandwich bread, they are looking for alternatives. We are using the factory to increase our capacity, and there is also a lot of interest from international buyers.”
The company has a foodservice business which supplies breads to Harris + Hoole and Centre Parcs outlets.
Strong continued: “We rebranded the product and company to help make the next move. Our biggest challenge is showing customers how to use the bread.
“The UK is a great market to be in, as there are booming café businesses, and we are looking to get our bread into more sandwich companies. A lot of sandwich manufacturers are taking a real interest in bringing bread through and offering it to their customers, and need an alternative to the panini. They’re looking for new ideas and our flatbread is something they are very interested in.”
The company’s retail range includes a Mediterranean and Indian deli flatbread. The foodservice arm also bakes bagels and sharing breads, as well as different baps and flavoured butters.
The products are distributed by Allied Bakeries, to whom they are a third-party supplier.
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