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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