Kennedy's Bakery Production


Haas now member of Bühler Group


The Haas Group, a global specialist in the field of wafer, cookie, and confec- tionery production systems, is now part of the Bühler Group. After obtaining the approval of the relevant antitrust authorities, the transaction was closed in the first week of January 2018.


Whereas this strategic acquisition enables Bühler to complete its Con- sumer Foods product portfolio, Haas now benefits from the resources of the global Bühler organisation; in particular, from its approximately 100 service stations and its


innovation network. “This means we are opening a new chapter in the Consumer Food market, and we feel confirmed by the broad approval that we have received from many customers and employees,” says Bühler CEO Stefan Scheiber.


Haas, a family-owned company that was set up over 100 years ago in Vienna, Austria, has evolved into one of the world’s market leaders in the field of pro- duction systems for making wafers, hard and soft cookies, ice cones, cakes, and bakery products.


Bühler states that this strategic acquisi- tion is a milestone in the development of its Consumer Foods business. To date, Bühler has not engaged in the promis- ing wafer and cookie production market. “Though we also offer food processing technologies and often have the same customers, our products and services do not overlap in any way – this means, we complement each other ideally,” notes Bühler CEO Scheiber.


– For more on this development, turn to our cover story on page 12


McVitie’s reduce Digestives pack size


It is being reported that packs of McVitie’s Digestives biscuits have been reduced by 100g, which equates to seven biscuits being removed from the traditional pack of 34.


The changes – which are believed to be attributed to rising ingredient costs and an ongoing theme of ‘shrinkflation’ across the food and drink sector – were due to


6


come into effect at the end of January, and pack sizes were reduced from 500g to 400g.


Nick Bunker, managing


director for pladis UK & Ireland, explains: “The rising cost of ingredients and changes in the exchange rates means it has become more expensive to bake our products. We work hard to drive efficiencies throughout our business to absorb cost


6 Kennedy's Bakery Production Jan/Feb 2018


increases, but occasionally – like many other businesses in these challenging times – we do need to make some adjustments”.


However, it has been


reported that the RRP will also be lowered from £1.25 to


£1.15, and while other packs in the McVitie’s range will be smaller, new larger ones will also be introduced – ensuring that customers have a greater selection of portion sizes than ever before.


bakeryproduction.co.uk


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