Baking & Snack - October 2022 - 22

THE GOOD BREAD CO.
" IT WAS A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL
ACQUISITION. COMBINED WE
ARE BOTH YEARS AHEAD OF
WHERE WE WOULD BE. "
Spiros Assimacopoulos, The Good Bread Co.
ed its accounting and finance and sales and marketing
teams. The Good Bread Co. is currently testing an ERP
system it hopes to use in the future to coordinate and
streamline production across both bakeries.
" The general approach is collaborative, focusing on
integrating when practical and not for the sake of it, " Mr.
Assimacopoulos said. " The most impactful result of the
acquisition has been the brain share between teams. I
cannot overstate the value created from teams working
across different plants to collectively solve problems. "
There has also been a rationalization of SKUs, both
due to the pandemic and the acquisition. Currently, the
East Bakery is producing 98 SKUs from frozen product
and 50 for DSD, which is half what the bakery was producing
in 2019, and the West Bakery is producing 93
SKUs, down from 155. Mr. Assimacopoulos hopes to
reduce those numbers even more as the company moves
toward a continuous process.
" SKU rationalization is more than just a math problem, "
he said. " You have to factor in changeover cost and
waste, looking at the whole process honestly and choosing
to focus on what you're good at. We have to really
evaluate the cost of getting better at some of these products
and decide if that cost is worth it in the end and of
course how it will impact our customers. "
Product has changed hands as well, shifting to be
produced in whatever facility makes the most sense.
Sometimes that's based on geography: It makes sense to
produce a baked good in the facility where it will have to
travel the shortest distance. Capability comes into play
as well in those decisions. Eventually, the West Bakery
will mostly produce pan breads with some bun capabilities
while the East Bakery will focus on artisan breads,
playing to each facility's strengths.
Infrastructure to support growth
Tripling sales across three years, even with the pandemic
dip, requires an investment in equipment and automated
processes. In 2019, the bakery invested in two Koenig
makeup lines, but the rest of the process was done in
batches, with bowls of dough being given floor time for
fermentation and racks pushed around between proofer,
retarder and ovens. Racks and wagons littered the plant
floor, while bread dough rested or baked product cooled.
Today, with one tunnel oven installed and another
ready to assemble, The Good Bread Co. will have the inTop:
After mixing, dough is automatically lifted and delivered to
the makeup lines. The automated makeup systems are reaching
their full potential with the tunnel oven downstream.
Bottom: Installing a tunnel oven has created the opportunity for
The Good Bread Co. to move from a batch production to a continuous
one, opening up capacity and streamlining operations.
22 Baking & Snack October 2022 / www.bakingbusiness.com
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Baking & Snack - October 2022

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