Family-owned South Yorkshire bakery ‘rises’ thanks to local support programmes

White’s Bakery, based in Worsborough Bridge, Barnsley, is set to embark on an “exciting” new era, with “ambitious” growth aspirations, following a programme of strategic planning through Made Smarter and training through South Yorkshire Skills Bank.

The bakery, which manufactures cookies, mainly for schools, retailers, hospitality and wholesalers, was heavily impacted by the Covid lockdowns and closure of schools and businesses.

Around this time, the fourth generation of the family had taken up key managerial positions and Enterprising Barnsley recommended they applied for Made Smarter, which had released £1.5m funding for manufacturers in the Yorkshire region.

White’s Bakery was able to take advantage of Leadership and Management coaching and Strategic/Digital Roadmapping through Made Smarter, which has helped the next generation of White family members to incorporate technologies in lean, digital and net zero into the business.

Through Made Smarter, White’s Bakery received “intensive” technical support to formulate a strategic plan to grow the sales of its products throughout the UK and double turnover over the next three years. The strategy includes analysing future personnel and skills requirements and finance required to support the introduction of further automation.

The company’s plans also involve relocation to larger premises and the opportunity to incorporate digital technologies to improve productivity and reduce costs. White’s production manager also received Green Belt training through South Yorkshire Skills Bank to enable the company to move towards net zero with plans for new energy efficient ovens and EVs.

In recent months, following the involvement of Made Smarter, the business has recovered to pre-Covid levels with increased profitability and sales are now on track to surpass £3m this year.

David White, managing director of White’s Bakery, commented: “Following the lockdown, we decided to embark on the Made Smarter programme to enable us to gear back up and put a plan in place for future growth.

“The coaching programme has given us the tools to become a leaner, more productive business and the Skills Bank training we have had in the use of digital and greener technologies will help to make us a stronger business for the future.”

Mike Brook from South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, added: “White’s Bakery has embraced change and is now in a great position to experience transformational growth where the focus is on added value, increased margins and profitability. They are transitioning from being a traditional family business into a more agile and profitable operation.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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