East Coast Bakehouse

CRUNCH: Beyond the guilt-free indulgence

FromTrinidad & Tobago to Nigeria, the UK to Japan, a slow, indulgent minute or so is being taken up with a nutri tious , great-tasting product from Ireland’s East Coast Bakehouse.

Tickling the taste buds in so many diverse places has enabled the County Louth com pany to continue flying since its launch six years ago. 2022 is now sizing up to be a record-breaking year, with sales up a whopping 50% year-on-year and recording its biggest monthly sales returns ever.

Those eye-catching returns are indicative of a well-honed disruptive market strategy –countering the industry’s value-cutting trend with a high-quality, wide range of bis cuits and cookies.

Winning formula

The East Coast Bakehouse team refuses to rest on its laurels, being ever sensitive to the emerging trends and feedback from customers who are always hungry for more.

While contract manufacturing and private label are emerging as critical anchors for the business, East Coast Bakehouse’s Vegan Cookie range – lemon and almond, cocoa and hazelnut, and granola – now account for 20% of the business, whereas 18 months ago there was none.

“East Coast Bakehouse’s philosophy is to ‘Bake Better Biscuits’. Distinctive, great

tasting products, and a highly innovative approach, help drive brand awareness and distribution expansion,” asserted James Burrows, Commercial Growth Director.

“Our Vegan Cookies are gaining traction with vegans and flexitarians. The real affir mation is in the taste, which ECB never compromises on. Consumer feedback has been great.

“Consumers have even carried out taste tests with friends without telling them they are vegan cookies. The result: many are sur prised at how great tasting a vegan cookie can be.”

Endorsed by The Vegan Society, the range is now being extended with a Chocolate Chunk and Orange variant, undoubtedly capitalising on the increasing popularity of vegan biscuits.

Health focus

Borne from the company’s disruptive streak in the industry and yet aligned to people’s growing concerns for more healthy offer ings, ECB has also launched a new protein brand, In The Zone, for the Irish market.

Mr Burrows said the range comprises four variants, two high protein low sugar cookies –Soft Bake Double Chocolate flavour and Soft Bake Cookies & Cream flavour, both with 20g of protein, and two high protein biscuits with 10g of protein – Crunchy

EAST COAST BAKEHOUSE I PROFILE

Double Chocolate flavour and Crunchy Salted Caramel flavour.

In The Zone has been designed to target health-conscious consumers who don’t want to compromise on great taste and is being marketed as the perfect pre- or post-game snack. The brand has been created in part nership with the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and Gaelic Players Association (GPA) and confirmed as The Official Players Choice.

“We are incredibly excited to launch In The Zone and proud to launch it with the endorse ment of the GAA and GPA,” commented Sean Murphy, ECB’s Managing Director, at the official launch. “It is no secret there is con tinued growing demand for high protein snacking options, but most protein snacks are imported into Ireland.”

Mr Burrows emphasised: “The health industry is traditionally dominated by bars and powder formulas, so our In The Zone cookies offer a different entry point into the market for consumers looking for new and interesting products to meet their nutritional needs.

“Historically, protein products prioritized functional delivery over taste enjoyment. However, our development team has created a range of protein cookies and biscuits that not only deliver on functionality but are also a pleasure to eat

“We’ve had a fantastic consumer response and look forward to building momentum with a strong consumer launch plan to drive brand awareness and product trial.”

Transparency and sustainability

As the pressures for transparency and sus tainability continue to permeate through industry in general, ECB has taken several steps in the right direction.

The company was awarded a Gold Member of Bord Bia’s (Irish Food Board) Origin Green Programme, the highest form of member ship a company can attain in any given year.

“We’re committed to ensuring we are a sustainable producer, taking care to develop our processes, sourcing policies and ways of doing business that have minimal impact on our environment,” Mr Burrows said.

ECB is working with Bord Bia to imple ment the Origin Green Programme, aiming to deliver real improvements in reducing waste, improving energy use and doing their bit for the environment.

The company is delivering on these: 98% of its packaging is recyclable, while it is now transitioning production away from sustain ably-sourced palm oil to coconut oil. And all backed up by carefully selected ingredients and developed recipes.

Diverse and global

As Ireland’s largest biscuit manufacturer, ECB is also looking to build on its global view and break new ground with its range of biscuits and cookies. Indeed, the com pany won the 2019 Irish Exporter of the Year Award and was listed as Europe’s third fastest-growing food company by the Financial Times in 2021.

Mr Burrows said: “We supply 26 diverse markets worldwide from the USA to Europe, Japan to Nigeria, Australia, Trinidad & Tobago and even the Faroe Islands. Our pivot into the international market has enabled sales to grow at pace.”

One ingredient to the company’s formula for success lies in the highly agile approach that ECB retains compared to other legacy players in the market. “We retain a start-up ethos. We have a flat management structure that enables us to be quick and make rapid decisions,” said Mr Burrows.

“Decisions can be taken in minutes, com pared to others that may take months. Our highly skilled product development team works closely with customer buying and t echnical departments to develop bespoke products aligned to individual needs.”

Backed by a highly-motivated team of almost 100 people, the company has a stateof-the-art plant, one of the most modern in

Europe. The facility comprises an 80m oven and a 400m-long fully integrated production line, with the capacity to produce 90,000 bis cuits an hour – or 20,000 tonnes per annum.

Aside from the Vegan and In The Zone ranges, ECB’s product portfolio includes indulgent treats and bespoke cookies for the increasingly health-conscious consumer.

Everyday favourites include Oaties, Gingernut, and Shortcake, while the Indulgent offering carries a range of cookies with inclusions such as chocolate, fruit and nuts and a fully chocolate enrobed range. Keto, reduced and zero sugar products are also included in the lifestyle offerings.

Retail clients for ECB’s treats include Dunnes Stores, Centra, Londis, MACE, Circle K and Lidl, to name a few.

Maximising potential

While geared to delivering an array of innovative biscuits and cookies in response to ever-changing market demands, ECB is also providing quality products at competi tive rates for both contract manufacturing and private label.

Mr Burrows said: “Our production is cur rently running at one-third of total capacity, so there is a lot of headroom that we can grow into. We are increasingly talking to potential new clients in the contract manufacturing and private label sectors, and are hopeful of maximising opportunities as they arise.”

While inflation, Brexit, supply chain issues, and production scheduling keep the business zoned in on the here and now, ECB remains focused on building for the long-term.

“As much as difficult external factors can impact a business, we believe in hon esty, integrity and open communication with suppliers and clients,” outlined Mr Burrows. “If there’s an issue, we work through it as a collaborative process and derive a solution that fits.”

While new products are seen as a critical element of growth, he concluded: “We under stand we have to think differently and be dif ferent in the marketplace; but we must always deliver a high-quality experience without compromise.

“Consumers are willing to be adventurous. ECB continues to move at pace, matching those demands with product value, quality and innovation.” n