For 41 years, Peck and Strong has been a stalwart of the hospitality and foodservice sector, both in the South West and across the UK.
Who?
You may well ask… and they get that all the time!
If you’ve ever enjoyed a delicious fruit filled flapjack at a National Trust property you’ve probably eaten a bake lovingly handmade at their bakery in Crediton, Devon. From universities and country houses to numerous cafes, coffee shops and delicatessens across the country, they’ve been quietly and discreetly supplying their handmade cakes and traybakes with no fuss or frippery for a very long time! Just great ingredients, well established recipes, and eco-friendly packaging long before it was the trend in the marketplace.
As with everyone, the past eighteen months have been a huge upheaval, but along with Brexit and Covid they’ve also had some internal changes. Their founder, John Peck, departed for his hard-earned retirement last September and a new management team has been established to run the show. Kate Woolfenden as Managing Director, John Thomson as Business Development Manager and Ali Beech as Business Development and Baking Specialist… and they’ve all agreed its time Peck and Strong stepped into the light and started shouting about their awesome bakes to the world.
They are working hard to introduce new products to reinvigorate their range of classics, listening intently to feedback from their customers and streamlining their offering to make room for those limited edition products that excite the market and respond to trends more readily. New Product Development is coming along well, with a particular focus on bakes without gluten and suitable for vegans.
So far they’ve launched two new products, Passionfruit and Coconut Frangipane and Vegan Dark Chocolate Rocky Road with Cherries and Apricots. They took a chance on these two and submitted them, alongside their perennial favourite Yogurt Topped Apple & Blackcurrant Flapjack, to the Taste of the West Awards this year and were thrilled and encouraged that all three were awarded Gold by the judges.
Their next step will be the launch of their new consumer website later this year which will have an online shop so their delicious range can be delivered direct to your door in smaller, family friendly sizes which will help develop their customer facing brand. Four decades of happy customers says their bakes are brilliant… so they want to make them even more accessible and available to all.
In the meantime, they continue to work with a number of wholesalers across the country, covering the South West with their own delivery team – if you’ve never (knowingly) tasted their delicious products and think they would work in your establishment, then please do get in touch. They love sending out their generous sample boxes as they always bring joy alongside delectable cake!
If you’re interested, please email bake@peckandstrong.co.uk or call Head Office Sales on 01363 775004. More details about them and their products can be found on their website at peckandstrong.co.uk.