British Bakels

Industry: Food manufacturing

Service: Energy efficiency, energy purchasing, invoice validation and Climate Change Agreement management

Result: The most competitive markets rates available, on appropriate contract terms to meet British Bakels’ requirements

About British Bakels

British Bakels manufactures and distributes a wide range of bakery ingredients, some of which are tailor-made for industrial and in-store bakeries, while others are specifically developed for the craft and foodservice sectors. The company has an annual turnover of around £40m and is based on a 6-acre site in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

The project brief

British Bakels spends a significant sum on gas and electricity – in the region of 1% of turnover. Innovative Energy Consultancy (IEC) was commissioned to purchase gas and electricity on behalf of British Bakels to help minimise this overhead.

The solution

British Bakels specified a fixed-price, two-year contract to allow accurate forecasting and budgeting and a tender exercise was conducted, allowing IEC and British Bakels to compare prices and services from various suppliers.

British Bakels was coming to the end of a previous fixed price contract, so it was facing a significant increase in cost because the wholesale energy market prices had risen.

IEC sought to limit the impact of this price rise by negotiating with suppliers to achieve the best possible contract terms for British Bakels.

“We are food manufacturers, not energy experts, so we brought in IEC to help us. Because they understand the gas and electricity markets they were able to help us think through our requirements and get the best price and supply contract. We knew we could trust Mike to put our needs first, he is always fully focused on helping us to manage our energy costs effectively.”

Rob Lucas, Chief Finance Officer, British Bakels