C.H. Guenther & Son is a leading food manufacturer that has delivered highquality products and ‘just baked from scratch’ flavours for over 170 years. With manufacturing locations worldwide – including Europe’s most advanced bakery – it is making significant strides in sustainability through energy and waste reduction, and progressive farming practices. Andy Probert discovered more in discussion with Rosalinda Sanquiche, Global Senior Manager, Sustainability & Communications, and Jean-Charles Philippon, Managing Director, Europe.
IN1851, C.H. Guenther & Son (CHG) began life as a humble flour mill near Fredericksburg, Texas. Its entrepreneurial visionary of the same name switched operations to neighbouring San Antonio, and CHG has been a powerhouse of production ever since.
Now employing 4,100 people across 29 manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe, the company is a leading supplier of value-added grain-based and frozen food products for food service clients and select consumer markets.
CHG’s current portfolio focuses on ten areas ranging from artisan bread, buns, and English muffins to baking, griddle, batter, and breading mixes, biscuits, doughs, gravies, and dips. Its much- loved
retail brands, such as Pioneer, White Wings, Sunbird, and Cuisine Adventures, have been present at family meals for generations.
While CHG which is owned by Pritzker Private Capital is deeply committed to advancing food quality across its diverse operations, its dedication to sustainability is deeply embedded within its DNA.
Sights on Coventry
These principles are best demonstrated at its latest high-tech operation at Coventry, in the UK. The £38M facility, which employs 90 people, can create 72,000 buns an hour or 1.1 million buns a day - one of the fastest bun production lines in Europe. The 106,000 sqft plant, designed and
built from scratch, is C. H. Guenther Bakeries in Europe’s third UK site.. Significantly, the facility is fully supported by McDonald’s as it will create fresh, quality buns exclu sively for the fastfood giant’s restaurants.
Jean-Charles Philippon, CHG’s Managing Director, Europe, said the facility underscored the company’s longstanding commitment to McDonald’s, which it has been supplying with fresh, quality buns since 2005.
Sited ideally in the West Midlands between major UK cities, the facility has been praised by senior McDonald’s management to help better serve their customers and is an excellent example of the work it is achieving with CHG.
The site is designed to BREEAM ‘Excellent’ specification and is targeting an EPC ‘A’ rating. Supporting CHG’s environmental commitments to reduce electricity, natural gas, and water intensity, and a zero waste
to landfill target, the building has installed solar PV, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and a water recycling system.
“CHG is committed to high quality products, while sustainability and flexibility are key considerations with this latest facility,” said Mr Philippon. “We believe the development will become a key asset in C.H. Guenther Bakeries’ European growth plan.
“One of our core values is to offer bespoke production that exceeds customers’ expectations. Our customers are considered valued partners as we often collaborate with them to ensure we’re fully invested in their specific operations. Ensuring we never compromise on quality means their end users get the best products.”
Sustainable strategy
Rosalinda Sanquiche, Global Senior Manager, Sustainability & Communications said CHG, backed by its parent company, is continuing to make significant strides in
sustainability activities on all its sites. This is through energy and waste reduction, advanced farming practices, and increased use of sustainable and recyclable sources for its product ingredients and packaging.
The company produced its first environmental, social, and governance report in 2022 and highlighted the many initiatives it is achieving, which are being shared with stakeholders, suppliers, and customers.
“Sustainability has become a firm focus for us. We are one of the few bakers in the industry to tackle Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions, and we are now looking at Scope 3,” said Ms Sanquiche. “We began this initiative with our German plant, and it is now being rolled out across the company’s footprint.”
The report highlights a variety of sustainability measures undertaken. For
e ach metric tonne of product CHG creates, it is working to reduce the usage of electricity and natural gas, and waste generated to help lower its carbon footprint.
CHG supports farming practices and water efficient technologies that protect watersheds in communities at drought risk. Its facilities also meet all environmental compliance requirements, ensuring water released into community systems is contaminant free.
Most of the organic waste CHG plants produce is diverted from landfill and converted to animal feed. CHG also diverts waste through upcycling, turning organic materials into new product. Working towards zero waste to landfill has already been achieved at eight facilities.
A greater focus has also been placed on products made from sustainable ingredients, according to Ms Sanquiche:
“CHG requires all vendors to adhere to a Supplier Code of Conduct that tracks where ingredients are grown and harvested.”
CHG is also working closely with partners to develop packaging that is 100% reusable, recyclable, or industrially compostable by 2025 for retail markets.
“Our effort remains to reduce electricity, natural gas, and water intensity from
a 2022 baseline with SBTi-aligned goals and to target zero waste to landfill,” she explained. The corporate headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, is a LEED Silver building, using solar panels and an innovative HVAC system.
CHG’s R&D and culinary team is innovating with clients to provide options for healthy offerings: high protein, low sodium, whole grains, clean label, and more. It is also seeking out sustainably sourced or harvested ingredients, including RSPO certified palm oil.
Praise for staff
“Having customers that share our beliefs and values, and backed by a parent company that is prepared to invest heavily, demonstrates how serious we
are in driving our sustainability goals further,” Mr Philippon agreed.
The company is also fully aligned with helping farmers look at new ways of innovating in growing wheat, maximizing yield while being mindful of best agricultural practices.
Both interviewees paid tribute to CHG’s global workforce in their commitment to maintaining best practices in performance, many geared towards the company’s sustainable goals.
The company is bestowed with many experienced workers who have served more than five, ten, and 20 years. “They are at the heart of what we do; they bring forward ideas for change and how we can evolve into a better company,” said Ms Sanquiche. “We ensure that the performance of the company and our sustainable goals are always interrelated.”
Additionally, CHG’s efforts to increase diversity and educate its workforce about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) culminated in the company being named by Newsweek as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity for 2023. CHG began its DEI journey in 2021 with a threeyear strategy to align diversity goals with its corporate business plan. The organization has spent the last two years implementing various programs and initiatives to help create a more diverse and inclusive corporate culture.
In conclusion, Mr Philippon said: “We never lose sight of what drives the consumer and how we work collaboratively with our partners to deliver on those trends and perceptions. CHG will never compromise on quality and will always strive for excellence. Those principles will always underpin our approach and growth.” n
