50 jobs at North Wales bakery after global export success

-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Record overseas sales are fuelling growth at a bakery where 50 jobs are up for grabs after landing contracts in the Middle East and Australia. Exports are set to break through the £10million barrier this year at the fast-growing Jones Village Bakery in Wrexham, which employs around 900 staff.

Among its recent successes is clinching two deals to supply gluten-free products to seven Gulf States. Earlier this year the company started shipping products to Australia, where the company’s pancakes have proved a big hit and are now being sold and served up right across the vast country.

At the same time, the bakery is also experiencing surging demand from Europe, particularly in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. All of this is on top of supplying a worldwide network of around 200 M&S stores – as far afield as Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East - with crumpets, scones, pancakes, bagels, rolls, Welsh Cakes and pikelets.

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The company’s growing success with overseas sales has been recognised by the Welsh Government who have named the Village Bakery as an official Welsh Export Champion.

Commercial Director Lesley Arnot said: “Our exports are doing really well for us and we are going from strength to strength in all the different countries that we’re dealing with and we’re adding a few more on the order book.

“We’re also enjoying success in the Middle East, where we’ve launched across several different countries with two different retailers out there.

“I’m absolutely delighted with the way things are developing – and there’s much more to come as well. We have some really good foundations for expansion into other export markets.

“There is huge potential for further growth and we are getting good support from the UK Government’s Department of Business and Trade and the Welsh Government to help us get established in different countries so it’s really exciting times.”

It was a sentiment echoed by the Village Bakery’s Commercial Controller, New Zealander Glen Marriott, who played a key role in securing the Australia contract.

He said: “The distributor was looking for a new supplier and Googled people who make pancakes and we popped up because we had just invested £2 million in a new pancake production line.

“They liked our values and how we promote from within, the quality of the products and the facilities and that prompted a phone call from their managing director and it went from there.”