Founded in Brussels in 1919, Puratos has grown to become a veritable powerhouse in the bakery sector, operating across more than 100 countries and employing over 10,000 people.
Its status as a major global player was all but confirmed earlier this month, when it agreed a deal to purchase US juggernaut Dawn Foods in a move that will see it significantly expand its physical presence across the Americas.
With a product portfolio spanning bakery mixes, bread improvers, fillings, glazes, chocolate compounds and a broad range of speciality ingredients, the firm has its finger firmly on the pulse of the issues affecting the sector today.
And given the volatile economic and geopolitical situation, those challenges are manifold and wide‑ranging, covering everything from supply difficulties and Brexit to the integration of AI technology and a worrying shortage of Gen Z talent.
In 2026, the baking industry finds itself at a crossroads, with Puratos standing at the forefront of what could be a new era for the sector.
Economic constraints drive the need for self‑sufficiency
As we know, we are living in complex economic times, and with the recent developments in Iran, the situation has become exponentially worse.
But even without the drama of yet another conflict in the Middle East, the stunted economic growth and entrenched cost‑of‑living crisis sparked by the Covid‑19 pandemic have changed the landscape significantly.
Consumers now want different things, and most importantly are buying less across the board, which in turn has changed how brands and manufacturers operate as they seek to respond to developing demands.
Not to mention the widespread supply chain volatilities that are having a bigger impact each year, as the adverse effects of Brexit bite time and again, and climate change begins to slowly but surely disrupt previously reliable production patterns.
Speaking to Food Manufacture, Puratos’ managing director of UK and Ireland Julia Darvill explains: “The volatility of the supply chain is something that we were all faced with after Brexit and that has not changed since the pandemic, especially the volatility, which we see when trading in chocolates, with the cocoa situation as it is.
“I think the other thing to consider, outside of just being able to be more resilient, is being more adaptable for our customers.”
And given this recent market instability, the idea of self‑sufficiency within the domestic market has resurfaced as a key talking point.
“We’re generally quite self‑sufficient, particularly within bakery. If you look at the Federation of Bakers, they claim that 85% of baked goods are made from wheat that’s grown in the UK, which is amazing,” Darvill continues.
“I think it’s slightly different in cakes and patisserie, and part of that is because we still rely on imports, because we still consume a lot of packaged patisserie.”
Why localised production is good for business
It is this drive for greater self-reliance and self-sufficiency that is set to shape how the bakery sector operates in the years to come.
Brexit and the vicissitudes of the world economy have meant that businesses are increasingly focusing on solid, local operations, as opposed to shipping in ingredients from afield.
Aside from the stabilising impact of nearby, reliable production, the vast reduction in food miles is also a great fillip for the environment and Puratos’ coffers.
Investing in localised production is perhaps the easiest way to counter the increasingly tricky obstacles to international production.
And it is popular with customers too, who are keen to work with businesses that create local jobs and local produce.
“It’s one of the things that we’ve seen in the last couple of years, and I think it’s a hangover from the pandemic, this move to artisanal style approach,” Davill said.
“People want to understand scratch baking, that means people are understanding their ingredients more.”
A recent survey by Puratos underscores the significance of locality, with 85% of consumers saying the use of ingredients made locally is very important to them.
And, simply put, creating products locally leads to much faster, and much more competitive supply times.
“I think it’s all about speed and agility. Retailers in the UK need to move fast,” Davill continues.
“That means that customers that serve retailers, our customers, are going to need to move fast - and local manufacturing means that you can get things to market quicker, the speed of response for scaling up is quicker and the way in which teams work together to understand ingredients is better. Everything just happens faster and essentially you can just be more agile.”
A bright future for UK manufacturing?
In welcome news for British food manufacturers, technological advances are set to make local production even more practical and advantageous, with greater automation and the increasing integration of AI expected to take care of much of the heavy lifting across various processes.
And, naturally, a smaller geographical footprint means lower costs on the ground overall. Keeping production as local as possible is simply good business sense, where it is viable.
Naturally, there are some significant barriers blocking the creation of more local jobs and facilities, namely the yawning gap in UK talent, with recent surveys indicating that the manufacturing sector faces a serious shortfall unless more Gen Z talent is captured and galvanised.
This is without mentioning the difficulty of sourcing certain ingredients locally (chocolate, for example), as well as the high cost of energy in the UK.
“We’re a nation of making things complex when we don’t need to. I think there are two things - policy and governance - that needs to continue to evolve,” Darvill comments.
“As business leaders need to work with people, we’re very lucky in this industry to have some fantastic governing bodies of people who want to speak on our behalf such as the Food and Drink Federation (FDF). There are things that are out of our control, there are things we can control, like commodity markets, but we can’t control utility markets, and that’s one of the biggest costs for all of us.”
Darvill adds that the UK also needs to become a lot more self-reliant if it is to truly achieve its home-grown potential.
“I want to see less reliance on imported goods. I’m not anti-European by the way, especially working for a Belgian company, but one thing that frustrates me is the speed of urgency around innovation cycles.
“So if we’re going to try and meet the needs of consumers, we need to get faster. And you will see more responsiveness.”
Darvill paints a nuanced picture of the future of British manufacturing. Yet, as she outlines, the cogs are all there, in place and ready to turn - someone just needs to switch the power on.
That role may lie squarely with government, but other large-scale manufacturers, like Puratos, also need to play their part.
The bakery ingredients giant’s UK intentions are clear. Local is king, and home-grown investment has been identified as key to long-term success.