We're delighted to announce that the Albex Group has acquired Rainbow Dust from AIM listed Real Good Food PLC.

Founded in 2008 and operating from a BRC AA+ accredited site in Preston, England, Rainbow Dust’s products allow consumer and professional users to make creative sweet bakes and confectionary. Their range includes food colourings & paints, lustre dusts & glitters and decorations. They also produce a variety of sugar craft essentials such as texturisers, icing whiteners and edible glue.
 
The purchase further strengthens Albex’s position as a key ingredient supplier to bakers, confectioners, food service operators and retailers.  Rainbow Dust will sit alongside five other specialist brands in the Albex Group already serving these sectors: BFP, Henley Bridge Ingredients, Kent Foodservice, Tom Walker & Sons and Yes Chef! 

Andrew Dalglish, a Director of Albex comments:

“Rainbow Dust has an excellent range of high-quality food art products well-known and loved by cake makers and confectioners from hobbyists to semi-professionals to larger manufacturers. We’re delighted to have such a highly respected brand in our family. Like other companies in the Albex Group, Rainbow Dust will operate as an independent business with a sharp focus on the market they’re expert in, food colourings and decorations. However, we look forward to supporting them in realising their exciting plans by providing the financial backing and significant infrastructure of the Albex Group”.

Albex company BFP, a leading wholesaler to the bakery trade, has launched a bespoke blending service.
 
This service, powered by BFP’s blending plant and team of development bakers, sees BFP offering customers the opportunity to create any powdered bakery blend to their unique specifications. This includes cake & muffin mixes, brownie & traybake mixes, bread & scone mixes and pancake & waffle mixes.

If currently mixing their own ingredients in the bakery, BFP's bespoke blending service saves customers time, reduces space and machinery requirements, reduces their labour costs and ensures consistent results. If they’re using an ‘off the shelf’ manufacturer branded product, using a bespoke mix sets them apart from the competition and is typically better value.

To learn more download the brochure here.

Samantha Rain, Development Chef at Albex Group company Henley Bridge Ingredients, has struck gold after an impressive team performance at the Culinary World Cup held at Expogast 2022.

Samantha was a member of England’s National Culinary Team, which scooped a Gold and Silver at the prestigious competition, which takes place every four years and is the second largest culinary competition in the world.

On the first day of the competition, the team was awarded a silver medal for their Edible Buffet.  They then competed in the Restaurant of Nations, serving 110 covers on the third day of the competition, winning gold for their efforts.

Whilst Samantha is no stranger to high-profile competitions, she admits it’s always very nerve-wracking. “It was very, very hard. I joined the team quite late as their pastry chef, and it went from zero to a thousand overnight! They’re all incredibly talented people and were so welcoming. It was very flattering to be asked and I was so grateful for the opportunity, it’s a very big commitment – a lot of additional hours spent trialling recipes and getting in the mindset for competing but I’m so proud of what I’ve achieved.”

Sam used several Henley Bridge ingredients in her award-winning dishes, including the Grandes Distilleries Peureux Amaretto, Republica del Cacao and Belcolade chocolate and a number of Sosa products, including albumina, agar agar and trehelose. One of the petit fours was required to be vegan so Samantha used the Chocolat Madagascar vegan white chocolate, and the Chocolatree coloured cocoa butters also featured heavily in her creations, adding vibrant but natural colour.

​“I’m so lucky that, through my development chef role at Henley Bridge, I have the opportunity to work with some brilliant brands and keep up to speed with the latest innovations in the culinary world,” she explains. “I knew I could rely on the quality and consistency that these leading brands offer, which gave me peace of mind in a stressful kitchen environment!”

Following the appointment of new Managing Director, Steve Lyons, Albex Group company BFP has undertaken a fundamental review of every aspect of their business. They’ve appointed a new management team, made several significant investments and today have revealed a new look and a new website.

"In the last two years we’ve invested significantly in property and now have close-to-nationwide coverage via three new depots in Edinburgh, Daventry and Bristol (in addition to existing sites in Lewes and Leeds). This means that high stock levels of every product can be held at every depot. As a result, customers can now access 650+ products from 200+ brands in our core range whenever they need" says Lyons.

"We’ve invested in our multi-temperature fleet bringing it to 250 tonnes of daily capacity and digitised our warehouses. This means that we’re more reliable than ever, We’ve invested in our Customer Service teams and extended opening times to 8am – 5pm Monday – Friday. This means that customers can speak with a friendly, expert voice at their convenience. And we’ve built a new website where customers can do everything they do on the phone today and much more".

"We’ve also been reflecting on what BFP is all about – what value do we add to the world? Well, we love bakers. They’re skilled craftspeople and creatives. They’re an integral part of our communities and our nation. And they’re part of a long line, representing one of the oldest professions. BFP has long been a part of that community and we’re here to help bakery flourish. You could say we’re the yeast in the dough. We provide bakers with the material and inspiration they need to practise their craft. We help them to create successful businesses and delight their customers. Ultimately, we play a part in creating those special moments bakery brings - the joy of a celebration cake, the satisfaction of hearty food and the pleasure of indulgence".

"With its heart shape, our new look symbolises our passion for bakery and our passion for providing outstanding customer service".

See the new look BFP  at bfp-xpress.co.uk

The Albex Group has announced the opening of a new multi-million-pound, purpose-built depot in Daventry. The 73,000 square foot facility adds significant capacity to their existing nationwide network of depots in Bristol, Livingston, Leeds and Lewes. It brings total capacity across the HMS Group to more than 200,000 square feet.
 
The Daventry depot has been purpose-built and embraces the latest warehouse and logistics thinking. Its layout has been designed to maximise efficiency and with a fully digital Warehouse Management System (WMS) it will reduce lead times to customers. The depot will service two Albex companies - Kent Foods’ food manufacturing customers and BFP’s bakery customers in the Midlands and Home Counties.
 
The new facility has capacity for up to 10,000 ambient pallets and will also house refrigeration units for chilled and frozen ingredients. It has opened with a core team of five full-time staff and it is envisaged that this will rise to forty staff once the depot is at full capacity.
 
Albex Group Operations Director Michael Dalglish comments: “We chose Daventry for our latest expansion because of its strategic location in the ‘Golden Triangle’ of logistics with quick access to three arterial motorways linking Daventry to the rest of the UK. As home to dozens of major logistics businesses, being in the ‘Golden Triangle’ also means that our depot is staffed by a highly experienced team.”
 
The new depot replaces and expands the capacity lost when the Kent Foods and BFP depot in Basildon was destroyed by fire in September 2020.