bakeryconsulting

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Bakery modernization just means more buns out of your ovens

There was a time when you could feel the smell of freshly baked bread every morning in your local area. The bakeries were scattered all over your home city and you could get steaming hot bread basically straight from the bakery or at your local corner shop every day. But with the development of the retail shop chains and consolidation of bakeries, bread and bakery products began to be offered more in a mass produced format with heavily branded products. Nowadays you most definitely have a much wider selection of breads at your local grocery store, but in the same time you also miss a bit those days of the bakery smell and fresh bread from your neighbor bakery.

With the development of the bakery business, the major bakery players have relocated their bakeries from the city center areas to outside the cities into massive bakery facilities. With todays improved logistics and infrastructure, there is no immediate need to have a bakery located in the heart of each city. Also the cost for running several bakeries in the city center areas with the rental and operational costs are far much higher than having one major bakery outside a city that can cover several cities and even whole regions. For instance, the major bakery operators in Finland used to have up to 20 bakeries in different cities, but today they can serve whole Finnish market and their customers with only 3 bakeries.

Although it seems that most of the bakeries have managed to improve their efficiency and located their production in optimal locations, there is still a frequent push for finding ways to improve overall bakery operations. Bakeries have been faced with increased energy costs during 2021, forcing bakeries considering ways to increase energy efficiency and to decrease energy costs. Finnish bakeries are also forced to consider the requirements for turning carbon neutral by 2035 (as stated by the Finnish Government: Finland should be carbon neutral by 2035), thus finding alternative ways for energy and energy savings. Major Finnish bakeries also have production in other countries (eg Baltic Countries), thus requiring the companies to consider how to maximize and optimize production output for several markets.

With all this push and need for constantly improve bakery operations, the bakeries are faced with the dilemma of frequently calculating investment costs and how to optimize future ROI. When should you invest in new bakeries, what size, where and is it really feasible? And what do you do with your old bakery equipment? Should you utilize these in your new bakery facilities or is there a need to invest in new ones? And how do you minimize the standstills for your bakery upon relocation and updating of your bakery?

One solution to the problems is to consider modernization and relocation of a bakery/bakery equipment that would not be a new direct investment. This alternative can drastically decrease investment costs, speed up the bakery upgrading process, increase efficiency and bakery output, decrease standstills to minimum and give your bakery a new improved life.

 Modernization of a bakery, different directions and possibilities

Moving / relocation of a bakery

Due to the trend in consolidation and moving out bakeries from city center locations, many bakeries have to consider the option to either invest in a new bakery or to relocate the existing bakery to a new location. The relocation process of a bakery should always be considered as an alternative, either in full or in parts. Usually an old bakery has still lots of fully functional machinery that can be used in the new bakery locations, either as they are or by also modernizing them in the same relocation process.

Modernization of a bakery production

The production line is the heart of the bakery which transforms the ingredients to the end product. The production line consists of parts as… make up line, proofing chambers, ovens, transport lines and packaging area. When you consider modernizing a bakery, you can improve your efficiency and output by focusing on either the whole production line or parts of the production line. The modernization can be upgrading the machinery, installing new parts, upgrading of software, re-planning the whole production line process etc.

With the modernization of your bakery and production line, you usually also get as a “by” product better quality bakery products as you fine tune your production.

Proofing machine: Spiral or swing proofer

The technical advances in the proofing machines have basically stayed the same, so a proofing machine that is 10-20 years have the same functionality as new ones. By adjusting the proofing machine settings and speed, the bakery can be more flexible and also plan and produce new bakery products without massive investments in new machinery. Bakeries can also consider investing in second-hand proofing machines as spirals, thus decreasing investment costs in new bakeries.

Ovens

Overall logic of the production

Siemens and data center, the brains of the bakery

The Siemens software and hardware solutions are considered the brains of the bakery production line. Each part of the bakery machinery usually has a Siemens data panel that gives all the necessary operational information of that specific part. With the Siemens software, you can streamline the whole bakery production line process. For instance, the oven gives the signal that the bread is soon existing the oven, where after the cooling area knows that bread is soon arriving and that the cooling process will be activated as soon as the bread arrives (meaning also no unnecessary run time and energy spending when all processes are intelligently synchronized).

The Siemens also adds the intelligent automation process where you can change production line program. As an example, you can easily change your production from traditional buns to hot dog buns, pita buns or other bakery products with the correct settings.

With the Siemens operative system you can also limit the manual input to automated processes which again will decrease the human factor,  and in the same time increase reliability and quality output. Sensors and settings will immediately react to if something is out of the norm, thus guaranteeing the quality control.

Siemens hardware and software will though need frequent updating as the both software and hardware are frequently developed, which again puts pressure on bakeries for frequent updates. Consider it from every 3rd year the need to consider updates for latest technologies (could be compared to Windows operative system update).

 Energy efficiency

Older bakery production lines are probably not optimized for todays energy efficient operations. Therefore one direction in bakery modernization today is to improve the energy efficiency of the production line and/or specific parts of the production line. As energy costs has increased drastically during the past years and the push for carbon decrease and neutrality, a modernization for more energy efficiency is a valid alternative for todays bakeries.

Sustainability and responsible baking

The end consumers for the bakery products are today requiring bakeries to be more sustainable and responsible. Therefore many bakeries are today considering all the options on how the achieve these demands. By modernizing your bakery production processes and production line, you can make the whole process more sustainable. Examples as heat recovery from ovens for use of heating bakery facilities, neighbor facilities and heating of water. With a modern production line, you will also automatically reduce wastage, improve energy efficiency, improve internal and external logistics etc.

 Modernization of a bakery with Baron Foodtech

Baron Foodtech is a bakery consulting company who assists bakeries in improving their bakery business. One part of their expertise is to help bakeries to modernize their bakeries as an alternative to investing in a completely new bakery or new bakery machinery.

“We see that too many bakeries do not even consider modernizing and upgrading their existing bakeries as an option to new bakery investments. The main reason for this is that it is hard to get an overall picture what a modernization consists of and especially the costs involved. A modernization may involve dismantling of machinery, relocation, upgrading of spare parts, reprogramming of production program, setup, testing and relaunch, which all can be crucial parts for managing a fully functional production line. With a new investment, you think you buy yourself convenience and longer life in a cost effective manner, which may not be the case at all. With a clear modernization plan and professional team, you can give your existing bakery many more fully functional years with more effective production for even half the cost of a new investment”. says Matias Lehtinen from Baron Foodtech

With more than 20 bakery modernization projects in 15 countries and 3 continents, Baron Foodtech sees that despite the bakery business and markets are changing around the world to a more consolidated format, many of the bakeries could stay on par with the bakery market developments and competition by considering modernizing their bakeries. Baron Foodtech success and competitive advantage lies in that they can handle the tiniest modernization project to full scale bakery relocation where BF can see the whole production line process, not just only parts of a production.

A typical modernization project for Baron Foodtech is when a client identifies a problem with their existing bakery. BF as external bakery consultants are contacted to give their opinions and recommendations on how to solve the current issue. During covid times, the clients have briefed BF consultants online on the matter, where after Baron Foodtech gives a general picture on how to solve the problem and general timeline of the project (during 1-2 days). This is followed by a visit to bakery location and overview of the situation, followed by a detailed modernization project description and documentation. This description clarifies the modernization need, specifies if the modernization is feasible and the total cost of the project. The whole modernization project is handled by Baron Foodtech own professional team with always one dedicated team leader. The responsible team members and client contact persons are specified before the launch of the project together with the client. Baron Foodtech team serves it clients in Finnish, Swedish, English, German and Russian.

The typical project is an average size production line modernization. This includes the dismantling of the production line (2 weeks), modernization of the production line and machinery (2 weeks), and assembly and launch (1-2 months). Timing is usually one most the most critical factors in considering modernization of a bakery. Bakeries will need to avoid down time and zero production to any cost, as these means basically no income and even potential threat to lose existing clients if the bakery can not delivery bakery products. Baron Foodtech finds here the fastest and most reliable modernization solution with minimum down time.

The modernization of the production line and machinery can take place at client location with Baron Foodetch equipment, or alternatively at Baron Foodtech location in Nastola Finland. Baron Foodtech has their own workshop of +300m2 with all necessary equipment for upgrading works. Bakery machinery is delivered from modernization projects from different parts of the world to BF workshop for upgrades, ranging from locations in past as Finland, Lithuania to even Turkey. Baron Foodtech handles all the logistics, packaging, guaranteeing optimum costs and quality handling for the upgrade deliveries.

Baron Foodtech modernization process can also include finding spare parts to existing machinery or even find second hand machinery to replace old equipment. BF works closely with a wide network of bakery machinery and spare parts providers from where the most optimum and reliable solutions can be found at a reliable cost. The second hand machinery and spare parts sector has had a bad reputation in the past and bakeries have had a serious problem to find reliable solutions. Baron Foodtech handles these requests from the client in a reliable manner with an independent consultant status, thus not making any additional profit or business with the second hand equipment. On top of this, Baron Foodtech will naturally install and upgrade the equipment, and same time guaranteeing the functionality.

The installment and launch preparation of a modernized bakery includes also the planning of the production line operations. This is handled with the Siemens software and hardware solutions which work as the brains of the bakery production lines. Each production unit (oven, proofer etc) have their own Siemens panels who coordinate with their neighbor unit the production process. Baron Foodech will firstly simulate the production line processes at office location, where after Baron Foodtech programs the Siemes units to handle the production process in the most optimum way. The Siemens units can also be programmed with different programs that can be changed by the client, depending on different production needs (seasonal bread production/Xmas/Easter etc).

Baron Foodtech also uses intelligent monitoring systems of the bakery equipment by marking each production line unit with QR codes. These codes include full information of the unit, as age, output, service dates, service needs, upgrades etc other relevant information. This intelligent information monitoring will also effectively give the cost of operations and future return of investment calculations. The QR codes are also used for guidance in dismantling and re-assembly.

During the launch preparation of the modernized bakery, Baron Foodtech will also educate all the staff involved with the production line. This includes daily operations, educate differences in morning/day/evening shifts, how to service the equipment, how to act in emergency situations, chain of command and each staff member responsibilities. Baron Foodtech will still be reachable after launch of the bakery, but the primary goal is to give the client full understanding of the modernized bakery and knowledge to run the bakery independently.

  How does the future look for bakeries, according to Baron Foodtech

Baron Foodtech sees that there is growing understanding for the possibilities of modernizing bakeries and their immediate cost advantages. With a smaller investment need, many bakeries can move faster to answer the demand and changing market dynamics. This can be seen especially among major bakery companies who are today ready to modernize their bakeries, update their equipment and use fast intelligent solutions in order to improve bakery operations.

Baron Foodtech also considers that there will be a continuous trend to move major bakeries from city center areas to outside city limits. This is most probably happening in East European countries and even further east where bakeries can still be found in masses within city limits.

On the other hand, there is also a trend in developed countries to more local production and niche bakeries. It is trendy to be small and local, and by using second hand bakery equipment, new bakeries can launch operations to a lower cost than for investing in a totally new one.

Modernization will be a more flexible solution for the bakeries and bakery operations, and for the end consumers it will mean more bakery produce and selection to choose from.

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Russian bakery succesfully partners with Finnish consultants to conquer the gluten free market in Russia

The Glutein Free bread range has been in the west already almost a saturated bread range and direction, with a wide selection to consumers. Even those who do not as such suffer from gluten intolerance are also using GF free products.

 While the gluten free products and selection is still marginally growing, the demand for these products is only now taking wind in the East. For instance, in Russia, the Gluten Free products are only now becoming a bit more visible on the shelves for consumers. This lack of gf products and the interest spurred from the west was something the Sapsan company in Russia realized as a huge market opportunity. They had recently acquired machinery for the bakery that could produce GF products, but the general experience and recipes were lacking. This is when they decided to contact the Finnish Bakery Consulting group Baron Foodtech who assists companies developing new recipes for new markets. 6 months later, the Sapsan company had a totally new gf bread range on the shelves in Russia, with 7 different breads. And what was even more impressive, Sapsan company is a construction company who, after some careful research and bold decision making, decided also to diversify to the bakery industry.

“In 2018, we decided to diversify our business and to take a step in to the bakery business with a GF bakery. At that moment we did not know anything about gf production, but we sensed the market potential for this in Russia. As we do not have enough experts in GF production in Russia, we contacted Mikko Lehtinen from Baron Foodtech with a mission to help us with developing of 7 different kind of doughs for our gf bakery. Test baking with Baron Foodtech helped us to understand a lot, from zero to total concept of gf production. 6 months later we had 7 amazing gluten free products, and now our gluten free “Foodcode” brand is number one gluten free bread producer in Russia, with award winning products from Russian forums and exhibitions.”

-Mr Rustam Urazbakhtin from Foodcode.

Bakery consultants Baron Foodtech developing recipes and new business for companies.

Finland is known for their wide selection of breads, with long history and latest innovations, using clean and healthy ingredients. Finnish famous bakery brands as Fazer and Vaasan operate in whole Scandinavia, Baltics and Russia, and their brands are considered top shelf brands on the bread market. Global markets are constantly eyeing the trends from the Nordics, and this is exactly where Baron Foodtech comes in for help.

Baron Foodtech is a bakery consultant company, helping companies in bakery planning, relocations, upgrading bakeries, budgeting and profitability estimations, and development of new recipes for new audiences and markets.

 The team is headed by General Manager Mikko Lehtinen with more than 32 years from the bakery market in the Nordics, Baltics and Russia.

“The Sapsan case with the new Foodcode gluten free products was a very interesting and fast paced product planning process. The company had correctly analyzed the demand and market potential for gluten free products, so time and efficiency were key to success in this case.  Still, we took the planning process back to basics. We don’t offer ready ingredients as industry leaders in bakery consulting do, but instead we do custom recipes from raw ingredients, how to prepare ingredients and how to actually bake. Real and traditional slow baking in its purest form is our motto. Not only do you get a unique product, but you do also easily cut your costs with 50 % when you know the correct recipes and processes.”

Russia and global market potential for gluten free products

Comparing Russia with the Nordics, it has a massive market potential today. The expected annual growth today is in the range of 8-10% annually, and the price premium as far much higher than in other saturated markets. Especially the big cities in Russia are the drivers for new gluten free products which is a logical development when all the new trends and tastes are first in major cities. And already we can see the development of specialization in categories, as gluten free going to gluten free clean label vegan etc.

“Sapsan bravely hit the sweet spot in the bakery business today in Russia with the gluten free products and were able to conquer the top spot in a minimum time. We at Baron Foodtech see that Russia is just one many other markets that still are just developing in specialized bread and baking product categories. With today’s technologies and integrated global knowledge resources, bakery can fairly easily take the next step to develop their bakery business to the next level, even if they are not even in the bakery business as Sapsan company. Our team from Baron Foodtech is there to help to those companies.”

-Mikko Lehtinen, CEO, Baron Foodtech

Sapsan bakery is now Foodcode. To view more information please visit the Baronfoodtech website or the Foodcode website