FDBusiness.com

Carrs Foods, the Manchester-based bakery business, has been ranked at number nine in this year’s Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200, which ranks Britain’s mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales. Carrs Foods achieved an international sales growth of 29% compared to 2016, with a global sales turnover of £49.2 million.

This is the second consecutive year that Carrs Foods has been ranked in the top 10 in the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200, which is compiled by Fast Track.

The announcement comes after yet another period of record growth, during which Carrs Foods invested £500,000 in the relaunch of its fresher for longer brand, Baker Street, which has a total retail value of over £14 million. Originally launched into the convenience sector in 2002, the brand achieved its first listing in the major multiples at the start of the year, with Waitrose stocking Baker Street 4 Part Baked Petits Pains and Baker Street 2 Part Baked Baguettes. As well as growth in the UK, the brand has continued to grow across selected territories in the Middle East and Europe.

Carrs’ Premium European bakery brand, St Pierre, which launched into the USA in 2014 has seen meteoric success. Rising to a position as No.1 European Ambient Bakery brand in the USA* in two years of trading, this position was retained in 2017. Continued growth is forecast both in the US and domestic markets with additional launches rolling out during the year.

The business has thrived as a ‘disruptor’ in a traditional industry, by taking on a modern forward-thinking approach to the sector, working with selected partner bakeries, to produce the highest quality products for its consumers and customers. The result has been continued success and significant growth over the past few years.

Jeremy Gilboy, Managing Director of Carrs Foods, comments: “We are delighted to once again be in the top ten businesses in the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200. It is a great achievement for the company and reflects our strong continued growth year on year. As a leader in the international bakery sector, we continue to help drive growth through innovation and delivering solutions that consumes both need and want and pride ourselves on ensuring all our products deliver on taste, convenience and variety. Along with our strong retail performance, sales of our Baker Street and St Pierre brands are increasing in the food service sector too, where they are of particular appeal because, as longer lasting ambient products, they do not need to be frozen to stay ‘fresh’. With a 6% growth in 2017, the Paul Hollywood Ready to Bake brand has reinvigorated the part-baked bread category, which has traditionally been dominated by private label products. The range was extended in 2017 to include four Ready to Bake Rustic Rolls and further new products are planned for this year.”

Carrs Foods has been supplying European-style bakery products for the past 30 years to both UK and global markets and sells more than 200 million items every year in own-label and branded formats. Its brands include Baker Street, St Pierre and Paul Hollywood Ready to Bake.