FDBusiness.com

European Independent Purchasing Company (EIPC) has announced that production of the SUBWAY® brand’s cookies has moved to Europe – marking the first time the famous cookies have been produced outside of the United States. The cookies will now be produced at the ARYZTA Bakery in Gerolzhofen in central Germany, and distributed by EIPC to over 4,500 SUBWAY® stores across Europe.

The ARYZTA Bakery will produce over 100 million SUBWAY® cookies a year and different varieties of the SUBWAY® brand’s own label cookies – as Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chunk, Raspberry Cheesecake, Oatmeal Raisin, White Chip and Macadamia Nut.

The new bakery has been opened to meet the growing demand for the SUBWAY® brand in Europe. By 2020, the number of SUBWAY® stores in Europe is expected to almost double from the current 4,500 to 8,000. “For expansion plans of that magnitude we need suppliers who will grow with us and an organised team responding to the needs of Franchisees and markets appropriately.” explains Ben Fricke, Commercial Director at EIPC.

Formed in 2001 and owned by SUBWAY® franchisees, EIPC is a non-profit making organisation that delivers financial and service benefits to franchisees through volume purchasing and pan-European supply chains. The company is responsible for procuring the SUBWAY® brand’s food, packaging, equipment, utilities and services for over 4,500 stores across Europe.

With all cookie production previously completed in the United States, EIPC has now successfully completed the move to Europe to reduce food miles, allow for a quicker response rate, and create a more flexible supply chain. Wherever possible, the bakery will also use locally sourced ingredients from Germany, strengthening the efficiency and flexibility of the supply chain further. By moving production of the cookies to Germany, they will now be made using free range eggs, as is the case with all of the SUBWAY® brand’s own label products in Europe. That has been a goal of the EIPC’s as part of the SUBWAY® brand’s commitment to responsible sourcing and animal welfare standards.

The location of the new 600 square metre bakery – Gerolzhofen in Germany – was chosen for its central-Europe positioning to provide optimum distribution efficiency to SUBWAY® stores across Europe.  The bakery is an extension of the existing Hiestand Deutschland GmbH bakery, which started operation in 1989. Now owned by ARYZTA – the world’s largest specialty bakery company – construction of the bakery extension has taken a year, with EIPC ensuring the latest technological developments and advancements are featured throughout.  The bakery also has a state-of-the-art research and development centre, which EIPC will use to work with SUBWAY® and ARYZTA on ongoing cookie innovation.

The new cookie bakery has also benefited the Gerolzhofen community, with a number of job opportunities created.  An additional 50 positions have been recruited for and filled to produce the SUBWAY® brand’s cookies; now 350 employees are working at the ARYZTA bakery.