Investment heats up expansion drive at independent bakery business
North Yorkshire bakery company, Bakeri Baltzersen, has revealed a £250,000 expansion project at its site in Kettlesing, with work set to begin this month.
Launched in March 2019 as a sister brand to Scandi-cafe, Baltzersen’s, Bakeri Baltzersen was established during lockdown with its main site at Kettlesing just outside Harrogate. It added a bakery shop in Harrogate town centre in August 2020 with a further retail outlet opening in Wetherby in August 2021.
The main bakery supplies both bakery shops and a café alongside a growing number of wholesale partners across Yorkshire.
The firm’s expansion will involve knocking through into the adjacent unit at Springfield Business Park, which will effectively triple the floorspace of the bakery.
It will generate new employment opportunities locally and the business aims to expand the number of its wholesale partners across existing and new areas, including Halifax, Huddersfield and Wakefield and subsequently York.
Its growth will be part financed by a £20,000 grant from the Product and Process Innovation (PAPI) Fund – a legacy European funding programme which is due to finish this year – plus a £27,390 grant provided by Harrogate Borough Council.
Paul Rawlinson, co-director of Baltzersen’s and Bakeri Baltzersen, said: “The expansion is great news not only for our team, but for the region.
“It’s an investment we are proud to make and we’ll be expanding the team both in terms of production and delivery.
“At the very forefront of our mind is ensuring our core values, quality and service, are positively impacted by this growth rather than the alternative.”
Paul Rawlinson
Alistair Forbes, SME growth manager for Harrogate Borough Council, said: “Baltzersens was able to demonstrate adaptation and growth of the business, with a clear plan to expand their production facilities and extend their customer reach in the coming months.
“Using Government funding awarded to all local authorities in recognition of the impact of Covid-19, the council was able to support eligible businesses to recover from the impact, and to create new jobs across the Harrogate district.”
Matthew Kirk, programme director for PAPI, added: “The University of York via its European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Product & Process Innovation (PAPI) project are happy to support Baltzersen’s and their continued business growth with a £20,000 innovation grant, that will facilitate the production of a range of exciting new bakery product innovations designed by the team at Baltzersen’s to meet wholesale market demands.”
Construction work is set to begin at the main bakery site this month and is expected to be completed in June 2022.
