The Warsaw office will be the hub for the business’ central and Eastern Europe retail, wholesale and foodservice customers, although the company will continue to have a small number of employees based out of key markets like Slovakia and Hungary.
The launch of the Polish hub follows the opening of an office in Dubai last year after the bakery manufacturer secured an exclusive distribution deal for the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
It will initially host seven logistics, sales and marketing employees, and comprises a showroom with a small baking studio to provide opportunities for meeting and tasting sessions.
Baker & Baker has been ramping up its market share to cater for a diverse customer base, and Poland, in particular, has seen new customer wins, due to effective channel management and incremental listings.
Long-term aspirations
“We’ve taken our time to ensure our new Polish office meets the geographical and functional needs of our employees and customers,” said Ryan Perera, international sales director at Baker & Baker.
“The disruption caused by COVID-19 created a significant delay to the project, as we’ve had long-term aspirations to create a formal presence in Poland.
“Our new office provides us with a hub in Eastern Europe, ensures that we are closer to our customers on a day-to-day basis, and will allow us to take advantage of new customer and innovation opportunities.”
Bakery products for Eastern European markets will continue to be manufactured at Baker & Baker’s sites in the UK, Germany and Portugal, and the business will retain its warehousing facilities in Poland.
The Wirral-headquartered company produces 2,500 different bakery SKUs for over 500 customers via key account own label brands and general sale, including American Bakery, Goldfrost and Concadoro, as well as licensing agreements with Mondelez and Disney.
It employs around 2,500 employees and has an annual turnover in excess of €400m.
