Baker Sweet Things triples sales to £1.5m

The Northern Irish company expected to double its sales again this year to meet growing demand from customers.

Acquired by food-to-go manufacturer Around Noon in 2016, Sweet Things has grown its workforce from two to 13 people in the past year.

The manufacturer is now recruiting for a further two roles – an innovation baker and a bakery supervisor.

Recruiting for a further two roles​

Now based at Around Noon’s Newry headquarters in a dedicated bakery, Sweet Things supplies many of Around Noon’s existing customers, as well as other businesses.

Gareth Chambers, chief executive of Around Noon, said: “We are delighted with the rapid growth that Sweet Things has enjoyed. After acquiring the business, we invested significantly in branding and marketing, as well as in new premises for the businesses. ​

“We’ve positioned it as a bakery that offers a bit of a ‘rock and roll’ take on bakery, and we did things like add the strapline ‘bad-ass bakery’.”​

Chambers said the acquisition of Sweet Things was a strategic one that complemented Around Noon’s existing offering.

‘A real demand’​

“Our customers spend in excess of £10m annually on bakery items, so there is a real demand for the kind of products that we offer through Sweet Things,”​ he added.

“Our customers can now centralise their purchasing of food-to-go and bakery items, confident they’re receiving baked goods to the same exceptional standards they’re accustomed to at Around Noon.”​

Meanwhile, last month, Bakkavor’s Cheshire-based bread division announced plans to recruit 30 people​ across its Nantwich and Crewe sites.

The roles are within a number of different functions, including production, hygiene, engineering, health and safety, and logistics.