Case Study: La Creme Patisserie
For Robert Hindle, Director of Operations at La Crème Patisserie, the transformation from a home-based business to a larger, commercial operation brought many challenges he didn’t expect.
With an impressive client list including Kew Gardens, Cheltenham Racecourse and a range of restaurants and luxury hotels across South Wales and beyond, La Crème had a growing list of contracts all over the UK for their artisan coffee cakes, afternoon tea fancies and desserts.
La Creme needed packaging that could keep pace with logistics. As the business scaled, so did its transport network. With a fleet of vehicles travelling up and down the A roads and motorways of the UK every day, and cakes being distributed through a pallet network, Robert found himself struggling to find the right boxes. Standard sizes lacked the precision and stackability he needed to secure his produce on the road. This was affecting the pristine presentation that La Creme’s reputation was built on, and had the potential to put contracts at risk.
Generic box sizes weren’t working. Robert needed a supplier that would step in as a partner to take care of creating very specific box shapes and sizes that could be assembled quickly during production, and remain intact from production to van to venue.
Price considerations. With the potential for supply shortages affecting supply costs, Robert needed security that he could protect his margins from sudden price hikes.
The packaging need to adhere high levels of food safety. La Creme held consumer safety in the highest regard. The business was signed up to the SALSA food safety scheme, and needed absolute surety that the packaging they sourced was completely and demonstrably safe to come into contact with their products.
Unreliable packaging was holding him back. Service levels were unpredictable. Manufacturers couldn’t fit around his time frames. Products were out of stock, or not able to increase in volume as demand grew. He couldn’t guarantee the regular, reliable and scalable supply his growing list of contracts required.
Until he picked up the phone and contacted iKrafts.
Joe Sizeland, Managing Director at iKrafts, recognised Robert’s concerns and jumped into action. His team took measurements and created specific designs for each cake box.
Using their long-standing relationships with manufacturers, iKrafts then set up bespoke printing plates that could produce these precise sizes at volume. The team also recognised that La Creme Patisserie needed certainty in their supply. To support this, they made sure that their extensive warehousing space always held extra stock of these lines, so extra supplies could be shipped at speed should they be required..
“As a supply partner, we know our clients need flexibility, and confidence in their product supply being secure,” Joe explains. “For businesses like La Creme, and the many other small and medium-sized bakeries, patisseries and food producers we supply, we have stock levels in place that can match their supply needs as they scale.”
The team at iKrafts were also receptive to Robert’s wider business needs. They worked around La Crème’s timeframes. They also made sure Robert always had access to up-to-date food safety certification, so he could fully demonstrate his safety standards to clients.
Joe has also done everything possible to keep pricing steady, even during a period where the cost of cardboard went up sharply.
“Joe and his team held prices fairly consistent over 2022-22 during cardboard price hikes, where other suppliers put on 20% overnight. They also put in place pallet discounts for us as we have grown.”
Fast forward ten years, and the relationship has gone from strength to strength. Robert continues to come back for bespoke box sizing as La Crème’s product range expands.
Robert HindleDirector of Operations at La Crème Patisserie“We have been supplied by Ikrafts (previously WF Denny) for over 10 years and can’t recommend them highly enough. The quality of service has been professional, fast, responsive and has helped us through difficult supply situations over the years. They are able to source and supply products that are off the shelf and new & bespoke. The wide variety of products and high quality of packaging sourced from BRC Accredited Suppliers has been consistent with minimal errors and damages. The team are friendly, responsive and have helped us to grow our business through the years through close collaboration”.
We fit around your needs and timeframe. Producing and delivering food to an agreed industrial contract limits flexibility. So our team does everything we can to fit around your needs and make sure we are helping you meet your demands.
Bespoke doesn’t have to be about printed packaging: Industrial clients like restaurants, hotels and cafes don’t need branded produce, but they do need products that arrive at the kitchen door in pristine condition. We can create bespoke packaging sizes that fit your exact specifications.
Resilient, reliable and flexible supplies are a contract-saver. A great product range means client contracts can grow fast. So we hold extra stock levels above and beyond regular requirements so our trade clients rest assured their success isn’t going to be hamstrung by supply bottlenecks. We will make sure you can get what you need, and fast.
Payment flexibility on trade accounts. We offer 30-day payment terms to trade customers on all our products. This allows our packaging partners to keep their businesses moving, even as cashflow might go up and down.
iKrafts supplies volume bakeries, patisseries and other businesses that need secure packaging that gets their produce safely from production area to client kitchen. If you need a reliable packaging supplier that can fit around the demands of your business, visit our trade hub or get in touch with iKrafts directly on 0161 341 0737 or using the form below.
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