Sales Treble at Newry Based Bakery

Sweet Things a Dublin bakery acquired by Newry's, Around Noon in 2016 has grown its workforce from two to 13 people in the past year and is currently recruiting for a further two roles – an innovation baker and a bakery supervisor.

The  bakery now based in Newry has trebled its sales in the past twelve months to exceed the £1.5million mark, and it expects to double its sales again this year.

An artisan producer specialising in ‘scratch baking’ of bespoke, innovative, irreverent and luxurious products, it supplies a number of well-known high street retailers and independent stores in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Originally established in 2009 by Ciara Byrne, now company Commercial Director, and her partner, Ian Fowler, it began selling at farmers’ markets before being spotted and eventually bought by Around Noon CEO Gareth Chambers.

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

Gareth Chambers, CEO 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’.”

“It has been a strategic acquisition for us that really complements our existing offering. Our customers spend in excess of £10 million annually on bakery items, so there is real demand for the kind of products that we offer through Sweet Things. 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.”

Around Noon employs almost 300 people, mainly in Newry, and manufacturers upwards of 60,000 products per day across more than 20 major brands, including hand-made sandwiches, wraps, salads, snacks, bakery items and 100 percent natural juices. CEO Gareth Chambers was named Young Leader of the Year at the 2018 Belfast Telegraph Business Awards.