Co-op has teamed up with family-owned bakers Jacksons and Warburtons for an innovative new supply deal to bake and deliver the convenience retailer’s own label bread.
The partnership now sees Hull-based Jacksons bake Co-op’s own-brand bread which is distributed daily to stores in towns, cities and villages across the UK through Warburtons logistics and distribution network.
Co-op continues to innovate and adapt to evolving customer tastes and demand for new bakery products, and the move sees Jacksons baking 14 products including a new 800g toastie loaf, Co-op’s Honest Value range and, a White & Bran loaf with ingredients including bran and wheatgerm to provide a fibre enriched alternative.
The end-to-end operational supply deal has all the ‘ingredients’ to deliver quality and value conveniently, with the shared values of the three organisations – which were all founded in the 1800’s - ‘baked’ in to the process.
Co-op’s Director of Chilled Food and Bakery, Sinead Bell, said, “This is an exciting development with all the ‘ingredients’ to bake in our shared values - Co-op is committed to meeting the need for great quality, fresh, delicious bread and bakery products, conveniently.
'As a co-operative, collaboration is a corner-stone of approach and by working together we have been able to innovate and explore new ways to provide access to every day family essentials in our local communities.”
Chief Operating Officer of Jacksons, Owen Elliott, said, “We’re really excited to be working with Co-op on this brilliant opportunity. The William Jackson Food Group, which owns Jacksons, has a long history with Co-op and is closely aligned in terms of quality and values - it’s great to be able to build on this relationship even further.
'A huge amount of work has gone into developing recipes for the new Co-op loaves, getting the factory ready for the additional business and setting up a logistics model to work with Warburtons.”
Colin Bebbington, Sales Director at Warburtons, said, “This partnership with Co-op will maximise our industry-leading distribution network to deliver freshly baked bakery products to its stores across the country.
'We are proud to be part of this partnership and are looking forward to working together with Jacksons and the Co-op for the long term.”