United Central Bakeries
Company
UCB is potentially a producer of a wide range of breads & morning goods. However, it has not fallen into the temptation of trying to be all things to all men; instead it has built up areas of market leadership in a smaller product range, focussing upon potato cakes & scones, gluten free bread & morning goods, and Yum Yums. Working almost exclusively under retailer brands, the customer base is dominated by the major supermarkets, though it does have a decent presence with one or two larger foodservice players.
Production is focussed upon a 4.5 acre freehold site in Bathgate, near Edinburgh. An excellently kitted out factory of over 100,000 sq ft offers ample room for expansion from the current base sales of around £10m, which keeps nearly 150 people employed. The unit could produce almost treble that volume, especially given its ability to supply baked or unbaked as well as frozen, ambient or chilled!
In 2004, it was heavily focussed on ethnic breads, with large plants churning out thousands of pitta & naan breads every hour. Today, as that market has become more commoditised and selling prices have fallen through the floor, UCB has evolved its product portfolio accordingly. That development will doubtless continue – no room for complacency in this game!
And with the population becoming ever more diet-aware, the gluten free range is a great opportunity. Significant investment in 2006 has created an area which is physically segregated, with a dedicated work force to offer the very best product integrity. We plan to lead the U.K market ... before having a bash at export!
History
Well believe it or not, the business was formed to “Unite” a number of bakeries supplying the smaller retail shops, dotted around the “Central” belt of Scotland. This was back in 1989, and under the control of a number of local entrepreneurs it has gone from strength to strength in a very competitive market. However, by 2005 it was ready to be driven on to it’s next stage of development — which is where Finsbury entered the scene.
In October 2006, the bakery suffered a serious fire which destroyed around 1/3 of the bakery and put the rest of the operation out of action for over a month. However, from such adversity the business has been able to re-invest in brand new Yum Yum and Hot Plate equipment, which will further improve production efficiency and re-inforce the market leading credentials of the business. Within weeks, the business had out-sourced its whole product range (apart from gluten free product which were back in supply from the bakery by Christmas 2006) to ensure it protected it’s commercial position once the rebuild was complete in mid 2007. The efforts of the senior managers, and their bakery colleagues was huge ... and we shall remain grateful to them all for their support.
Product Range
- Lightly seasoned potato scones & cakes
- The aptly-named Yum Yum’s
- A great range of gluten free breads & morning goods, including naans & pittas
