The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Irish frozen dough being sold in Australia as fresh baked today

yozzause's picture
yozzause

Irish frozen dough being sold in Australia as fresh baked today

Here is a link to a story in Australia  where the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is looking into the practice. It has already alienated many of Coles customers  that feel like they are being hoodwinked.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/coles-baked-today-bread-made-in-ireland-court-told-20130612-2o3ye.html

Regards Yozza

ananda's picture
ananda

When will the food manufacturing sector learn Derek?

Honesty wins long term trust.   Deceitful and dodgy underhand practice alienates people.   Still it goes on and on

Best wishes

Andy

Wild-Yeast's picture
Wild-Yeast

I take it the dough is shipped to Oz from Ireland in refrigerated containers where it's baked, packaged and distributed? The article implies that the bread is par baked and then shipped from Ireland. The point being how can this be cost effective? I apologize in advance for the skepticism but this one has the look and feel of not being economically sound - a dodgy sort of thing..., 

Wild-Yeast 

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

since all Grocery store chains are looking for new products, especially when they see a hole in the their line up like the growing Artisan' bread niche, is that this Irish manufacturer possibly had a local representative or broker who was a frozen food distributor, made a pitch to Cole's to help then fill this niche.  No none else, even the chains own bakery, was geared up to do this bread so Cole's said sure it fills our hole and we don't have to do anything we don't do now - bake bread off in our stores,.

This was the exact same pitch that was made to grocery stores in CA by a frozen LA based distributor to get La Brea par baked off the ground and in the stores. This particuloar distributor also deliverd to the top 20 food markes in the country so growth of la Brea's par baked program was fairly easy and expansion to the nation followed a proven track record for this comepany

Since there is so much profit being lost at all levels due to freight.one of 2 things will happen.  Either the chain will start making this product at their own existing bakery or, more likely, the Irish manufacturer once sales reach a certain level, will open an Auzzie baking operation to produce this bread. That is when the he local bakers will have a real problem they will struggle to deal with.

You can bet that someone is in Cole's today telling them no worries - we will make it here and increase your profit while getting rid of this bad press.

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

sells her LaBrea Bakery par baked 24 oz bread in Kroger stores here in the USA for $2.99 a loaf.   It is frozen in a warehouse in Ontario CA for distribution in CA, AZ and Nevada mainly .  It is 350 miles from Ontario to Phoenix  It goes into Kroger's warehouse in Phoenix frozen delivered on frozen trucks or is delivered on frozen trucks from Ontario to the stores in Phoenix.  It's Kroger's choice as to how they want it delivered.  If it was me, I would have the Kroger warehouse in Phoenix slack out the par baked bread the day before it was delivered to my store so I could bake it off as soon as it hit the stores doors!  No one accuses Nancy or Kroger of doing anything underhanded.

The label on Cole's bread says it is made in Ireland and is baked in the store - both are true.  If they didn't say made in Ireland or that it was totally baked in the store, then someone would have a case.    Why there was no bakery in Australia that could make this par baked product is beyond me.  Stuff that is half air, big from a volume point of view, doesn't weigh much and has to be shipped frozen can't be cheap to ship over 11,600 miles in frozen containers .  I would think any bakery of decent sized production in Australia,making good bread, could easily make as good a product locally and make huge profits doing so too. 

The only thing that should happen is that Cole's should source this product locally and put more profit the bottom line - if they can find a local bakery who can meet the quality requirements at the right price.  No local hand crafted bread baker in Australia has to worry about being put out of business unless they make crap for bread and try to sell it at a high price. 

Someone willing to spend $4-$5 for an artisan crafted loaf of really good SD isn't gong to by a $3 loaf of par baked at Cole's - or vice versa  - unless if the par baked is just as good as the local expensive stuff.and that only means the local stuff is not good and overpriced .

The great thing is that the rich that can afford good bread are getting richer and their numbers are growing while the middle class, that can't afford good bread and might buy afford a decent per baked bread at Cole's is shrinking - worldwide.  Better to be making a great, high priced bread for a wealthy customer I would think and not worry about poor competition that really isn't.

Bad bakers, passing themselves off as high priced artisan bakeries are the ones that need to worry the most.  They probably need to be making this bread for Cole's. 

On another note:

In 2001, a couple of years after La Brea developed its par-baked process and began to sell bread outside of the Los Angeles area, Nancy Silverton, her husband Mark Peel, and partner, Manfred Krankl, sold an 80 % stake in the bakery to the Irish company IAWS Group for $68.5 million.  I'm guessing this group took the know how they purchased from La Brea and this is the company is selling par baked  bread to Cole's.  The distribution of LB breads in the USA to the 20 largest markets is also done by an Irish US based distribution company not owned by IAWS. 

 

Les Nightingill's picture
Les Nightingill

like the old Monty Python sketch about the "24-hour Dry Cleaners"

proprietor: your shirts will be ready in a week

customer: but it says "24 hour dry cleaners" over the door

proprietor: that's just the name of the shop

Wild-Yeast's picture
Wild-Yeast

So the juxtaposed Nancy Silverton bread company decides that the Australian market offers expansion opportunity for the company. They cut a deal with Coles to test market the product. If successful they establish a hub and spoke "spoof dough" baking operation based in Australia to supply Coles'. Coles looks good to their customers and the "Nancy Silverton International Spoof Dough Baking Company" repatriates and protects profits to the offshore tax haven of Ireland..., 

Wild-Yeast