Brook Bakery

BROOK BAKERY

FRESH LOAVES & MILESTONES IN BREAD BAKING Powered by Inside Food & Drink

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BROOK BAKERY

I PROFILE

In a corner of Shiregreen, Sheffield, lies Brook Bakery; a company that boasts an impressive 35-year journey in the bread and confectionery business.

Director & Company Secretary Susan Gravill fondly shared with Richard Hagan the story of the company’s evolution and how it rolls with the ever-changing trends of the industry.

B

rook Bakery was originally an

his baked offerings from simple bread

ordinary retail store when it was

products to include confectionary also.

purchased by John Emes at the

His delicious baked goods proved to

young age of 23. The modest store opened

be an instant hit, particularly with

its doors under his ownership on the fourth

nearby businesses.

of July 1988, but it was not long before

As demand for the shop’s baked products

Mr Emes made a decision that would

grew, so did the store and its staff, with

prove to be rather historic: he decided

Mr Emes’ parents, Jack and Eileen, soon

to try his hand at baking.

joining the business. Subsequently, in 1990,

Mr Emes quickly found a knack for

the garage at the back of the shop was

baking, resulting in an expansion of

converted and extended to accommodate

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the increase in trade, and a van was purchased for deliveries.

Given his constantly increasing workload, in 1992 Mr Emes roped in his sister, Susan Gravill, to assist him so that he could focus on expanding the business. With her background in business administration, Ms Gravill was the ideal business partner for her brother, allowing Mr Emes to grow the business further. “It really became a family affair

Director & Company Secretary Susan Gravill (Right)

at that point,” Ms Gravill recalled, and she remains in the business as Director and

again. This time, Brook Bakery relocated

Company Secretary.

to a large facility that once housed an ice cream factory. Brook Bakery completely

A knead for new facilities

redeveloped the property into a 22,000

By 1994, Brook Bakery had outgrown its

sqft purpose-built bakery, where the

original premises and it moved to an indus-

company remains today.

trial unit only two miles away in Wincobank,

Manufacturing bread, rolls and confec-

Sheffield. The unit next door became

tionary at scale, including bespoke and

available five years later, which Brook

standard products, Brook Bakery now serves

Bakery quickly snapped up and duly

customers that include wholesalers, major

expanded into to create a 4,500sqft

retailers and sandwich makers. Altogether,

production area. Meanwhile, Brook

Brook Bakery employs 50 staff members,

Bakery had established three retail

including three apprentices, spread across

shopfronts as well.

its factory and three retail outlets.

It comes as no surprise then, that only a decade later in 2005 it was time to move

The company’s high-tech machinery ensures that Brook Bakery is able to

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BROOK BAKERY

I PROFILE

meet its customers’ most demanding

Customer relationships

requirements. Its factory features two

Today, Brook Bakery is an award-winning

Oddy six-pocket roll plants – made in

bakery supplying a large range of high-

Britain – as well as a bread plant built by

quality baked goods, including bread, rolls,

Mono Equipment, also based in the UK.

cakes, speciality bread, fresh pastries and

The shaped and moulded dough is then

confectionary, baked from both its standard

baked by one of a fleet of sophisticated

product catalogue and bespoke according

ovens, including a Salva deck oven, two

to customer requirements.

Agiv Forni rack ovens and a travel oven built by Spooner in the UK.

Brook Bakery’s customer relationships are formed around that ability to meet its

Finished products are packaged

customers’ demands, Ms Gravill explained:

by three Carrera 2000 inline flow

“We deeply understand our customers’

wrap machines.

preferences and either adapt our standard

The factory has recently also seen the

range of products to their needs, or we

addition of a Stevens automatic weighing

produce bespoke products specifically

system. “This eliminates over-weighing

tailored to their requirements.”

and manages traceability,” said Ms Gravill,

The company’s flexibility ensures that it

“so that in the unlikely event that there is

is able to evolve according to the market’s

anything wrong with the end product on a

demands too. One such example is Brook

production line, we can quickly and easily

Bakery’s recent foray into vegan products.

trace the source of that issue. It also

A new vegan Brioche, boasting a remark-

ensures consistency in quality and taste,”

able 28-day shelf life without compromising on taste, stands as a testament to the company’s continuous development. This is not Brook Bakery’s only venture into longer shelf life either, as many of their confectionary products - including brownies, flapjacks, lemon drizzle, carrot cake and more - last up to twelve weeks post-production, ensuring that quality and taste are intact.

The food industry, especially baking, has seen significant changes over the years: with the advent of cooking shows

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and influencer chefs, trends are rapidly

Certified quality & freshness

evolving. “There is a trend towards vegan

For over twenty years, Brook Bakery

products, and we’ve responded with the

has been a member of the Craft Bakers

vegan Brioche,” Ms Gravill noted. She also

Association. Over a similar period of time,

highlighted increasing consumer interest

it has also enjoyed SALSA (Safe and Local

in ingredient transparency and the rise in

Supplier Approval) accreditation. And now,

convenience as additional major industry

Brook Bakery is ambitiously aiming for the

drivers: “Many people suffer from allergies

coveted BRC certification.

and therefore the industry will have to

BRC, an acronym for British Retail

continue to find ways to remove allergens

Consortium, is a professional association

from the products that it manufactures.”

of distributors that sets a specific standard

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BROOK BAKERY

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for food safety and food product controls.

BRC certification, therefore, offers strong guarantees regarding food safety, traceability and quality.

When asked about the company’s uniqueness in the market, Ms Gravill emphasised Brook Bakery’s adaptability and commitment to excellence: “Our ability to meet the customer’s needs, our versatility, passion

BROOK BAKERY We are Brook Bakery, your commercial baking partner supplying high-quality baked goods for over 35 years.

As a family-run business, we love to deal with other family businesses and Envior Limited, one of our packaging suppliers, is just that. Envior’s packaging is all recyclable, which gives us the opportunity to do our bit for the planet! editorial mention

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for what we do and an obsession with excellence sets us apart.”

In the meantime, Brook Bakery’s teams are kept busy every day, with rolls and finger rolls for the wholesale market across Britain keeping them especially so - and it is not slowing down, either.

“Our production year-on-year for these products has increased by around 30 per cent,” Ms Gravill revealed. “Our confec-

tionary squares have also increased in demand, with our brownie being the best seller.”

Meeting constantly growing demand is all in a day’s work for Brook Bakery’s teams, as Ms Gravill explained, in conclusion: “There will always be a challenge waiting for us and our teams, some of whom have been here for 25 years! We love working here, we love our customers, and we look forward to serving them our delicious baked products for the next 25 years and beyond.”

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