Gardenia inaugurates P1-B loaf plant

Gardenia Bakeries Philippines Inc. inaugurated Wednesday night its P1-billion loaf plant, which is expected to increase the company’s bread production capacity by 50 percent.

The sixth plant, which can churn out 150,000 loaves per day, will enable Gardenia Bakeries to produce a total of 450,000 loaves a day to support the growing demand for bread products of the local market, which is estimated to be worth P18 billion.

The packaged, branded segment, which accounts for about half of the total bread market, is where Gardenia leads with a 50-percent market share.

The so-called unpackaged bread segment, which includes the small neighborhood bakeries and artisanal bread shops, accounts for the other half or P9 billion of the market.

Simplicio Umali Jr. president and general manager of Gardenia Philippines, said the new 6,000-loaves-per-hour plant will feature additional robotics and the latest available technology in modern baking, with equipment coming from Germany, the Netherlands, United States and Japan.

“There are improved systems and technologies in the makeup, proofing and automated handling process that will help produce high quality breads,” he said.

“The slicers are more accurate. We also have a tumbler where all four sides of the loaf are checked. There is also a tornado cleaner that ensures all baking pans are very clean and free of crumbs,” Umali added.

The new oven baking system will continue to use environment-friendly liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and will take in compressed natural gas once it is available in the industrial market, Umali further noted, adding that consumers can now expect more “cottony” breads and finer grains.

Umali, however, pointed out that despite the continuous growth of the country’s bread industry, the Philippines’ bread consumption numbers were still low compared to that of neighboring countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

To increase bread consumption, the company will intensify distribution through further countryside market development, specifically in Luzon, and saturation of convenience stores and sari-sari stores in urban centers.

For this year, Gardenia sees a more robust growth for its local business as total sales are expected to grow by about 25 percent to P5 billion, given growing opportunities to reach the countryside.

In 2015, sales were estimated to have reached some P4 billion, Umali said in an earlier interview with the Inquirer.