The Albex Group have further expanded their already significant UK presence with a new storage facility at the London Gateway Logistics Park, part of the Thames Freeport.  This 150,000 square-foot warehouse will receive and store food products arriving at London Gateway’s container port before being distributed throughout the UK by rail and road. 

Construction of the facility was completed in 2024 and alongside ambient space, fridge and freezer units have now been installed. The warehouse has been built to the highest sustainability standards, having been awarded both a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ and EPC ‘A’ rating.

Maciej Szczygiel, Managing Director for the South East Region at Albex Logistics comments: “The industry-leading facilities at this port-centric location will enable Albex Group companies to further improve their service to UK food manufacturers by reducing port-to-production timelines for imported raw materials and speeding up the export of finished foodstuffs around the globe.” 
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Michael Dalglish, Albex Group Operations Director, adds: “Albex is fully focused on delivering innovative, sustainable, and efficient solutions for the food industry. This facility at London Gateway is yet another major contribution to this objective.”

The Albex Group has announced their acquisition of the assets of The Cheese Geek from Administration. This is the second acquisition by The Albex Group in the cheese sector, having bought cheese cutter & packer Tom Walker & Sons in 2020.

Founded in 2017, The Cheese Geek is on a mission to democratise the world’s local cheese and put it at everyone’s fingertips.
 
They travel far-and-wide to source interesting, great-tasting local cheeses from artisan producers with high ethical standards.  Their quest is for the different, the interesting and the quirky. For cheese with provenance and a story.  And for cheese which is often exclusive to Cheese Geek. In doing so, they support and genuinely partner with artisans, helping them to thrive.
 
Having sourced these wonders, they make them available to consumers whenever the fancy may arise.  Online through the Cheese Geek website, in store at higher end supermarkets, at the deli, in fine restaurants and gastro-pubs.   In doing so, they help to make the experience extra-enjoyable and memorable. That could be through partnerships with like-minded brands, through innovative packaging or through the pairings, tasting notes and back-stories they couple with the cheese.
 
Customers include the likes of Sainsburys, Selfridges, The Orient Express and various fine-dining establishments.
 
Director of Albex Andrew Dalglish comments:
 
“Cheese Geek’s mission to support local artisan cheesemakers and make great cheese accessible is an important one. We’re delighted to be able to support it.”
 
“As a family company we always take a long-term view and are committed to fully supporting Cheese Geek. Our funding gives them the stability needed to continue operating and more. It will allow them to achieve their full potential and do so in partnership with the artisans who bring much needed diversity and craftsmanship to the UK’s cheese industry.”
 
“From a day-to-day perspective it’s very much business as usual at Cheese Geek.  The same team remain and continue to be led by founder Edward Hancock. They’ll continue to fulfil orders uninterrupted and provide great service. And they’ll continue to partner with a core group of artisan cheesemakers.  In addition to that, we’ve already begun planning some major investments designed which will see Cheese Geek embark on some exciting new projects.”

​Rainbow Dust, a member of the Albex Group, has announced their acquisition of Squires Kitchen for an undisclosed sum. 

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 chocolates. Their range includes food colourings & paints, lustre dusts & glitters and decorations. They also produce a variety of sugar craft additives such as texturisers, icing whiteners and edible glue.
 
Like Rainbow Dust, Squires Kitchen is a well-established British manufacturer and will complement Rainbow Dust’s range with sugarpaste, icing powders and cocoa butter colourings. This combined offering will give bakers, sugarcrafters and chocolatiers a complete range of ingredients to meet their needs.

Both brands will be retained, and manufacturing will be located at Rainbow Dust’s Preston site.

Having acquired Rainbow Dust from AIM listed Real Good Food PLC in November 2023, this is the second in a series of planned strategic initiatives by the Albex Group to build their presence in this market segment.

Louise Wane, Managing Director of Rainbow Dust comments: “Squires Kitchen and Rainbow Dust are a perfect fit. We’re both long-standing and passionate supporters of the cake, sugarcraft and chocolatier communities. We’re both obsessive about quality and constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation. And we’re both British brands committed to manufacturing our products ourselves in the UK. Together we now offer customers everything they need to craft magical creations, from sugarpaste to colourings to sparkles and decorations. This is the next step in an exciting journey and we’re looking forward to making further announcements about other initiatives in the pipeline in 2025”

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.