Gardenia to put up P2-B bread plant in Pampanga

GARDENIA president and CEO Simplicio Umali

Market leader Gardenia Bakeries will put up a P2-billion bread plant in Pampanga, a top official said, noting that a growing consumer demand called for an expansion.

In a statement, the company said the plant would be their second largest in the country, next to that in Laguna. Gardenia said the Pampanga hub would be a fully automated and world-class manufacturing facility.

Despite expanding their operations in Laguna more than two years ago, company president Simplicio Umali Jr. said Gardenia’s rapid sales growth allowed them to add more plant facilities to cater to the increasing bread demand in the Philippines.

Nevertheless, Umali said the country’s consumption of bread per person was still lower compared to neighbors Singapore and Malaysia, which had about three times more per capita.

The company expects this demand to further increase due to larger supply.

“The Luzon factory will have a capacity of producing more than 200,000 loaves and buns per day. It will cater to the bread demands of the North and Central Luzon and serve as a backup for the Metro Manila market,” he said.

He said that the plant in Pampanga “will feature robotics and fully automated bread manufacturing facility, untouched by hand.”

A company representative said the facility would be operational in the fourth quarter of this year, creating “hundreds” of jobs in manufacturing, distribution, sales and marketing.

The plant will be located within a 4-hectare land in TECO industrial park in Mabalacat City, Pampanga.