C.H. Guenther & Son LLC (CHG) has opened a new Centre of Excellence at its flagship Coventry bakery, creating a dedicated innovation and customer collaboration hub to support the development of premium bakery products across the UK and Europe.

The facility has been designed to support CHG customers, including leading global quick-service restaurants, foodservice operators and retailers, as they develop, test and refine new bakery products.

The purpose-built, 172-square-metre Centre of Excellence combines a commercial-scale bakery, customer demonstration kitchen, sensory evaluation facilities, an innovation suite and dedicated collaboration spaces in one specialised location.

Customers from across the UK and Europe will be able to work on site alongside CHG’s commercial, culinary, bakery and technical experts to create bespoke bakery innovations and take products from initial concept through to commercial manufacturing.

The opening follows tens of millions of pounds of investment by CHG and its partners in the company’s UK manufacturing capabilities. This includes the opening of its £38 million flagship Coventry bakery in 2023, which now produces roughly 72,000 buns per hour, as well as continued investment across CHG’s three UK sites and established nationwide manufacturing network.

CHG says this sustained investment has strengthened its ability to deliver faster innovation, greater flexibility and more collaborative product development. It will also help customers meet growing demand for premium bakery products, including the fast-growing potato bun format, while responding to changing consumer preferences.

The company is seeing increasing customer interest in free-from options, artisan-inspired cues, smaller portion sizes and protein-rich products. Concepts based on these trends can be developed in the innovation suite, demonstrated in the customer kitchen, evaluated through sensory testing and validated in the commercial-scale pilot bakery before progressing to full-scale manufacture.

The Centre is located at one of CHG’s most advanced manufacturing facilities, helping to minimise friction and time between pilot-scale innovation and commercial manufacturing.

Paul Tripp, European Vice President and Managing Director for CHG, said: “CHG’s new Centre of Excellence provides our customers partnership in innovation and developmental testing, ensuring ideas can move seamlessly from concept to commercial production, helping bring exciting new menu ideas to market more quickly, consistently and at scale.

“This investment is part of CHG’s long-term strategy to strengthen our growing relationships with leading food service brands through innovation, operational excellence and continued investment in our UK and EU manufacturing. We’re delighted by the initial feedback from customers who agree the Centre is industry-leading and a unique one-stop shop for collaborative innovation between CHG and our customers.”

The opening marks another milestone in CHG’s long-term plans to increase volume growth and expand its innovation presence across the Pan-European region. The company says the Centre will create further opportunities to invest and grow alongside existing customers, establish new partnerships and expand the range of premium bakery products its experts can bring to market.

San Antonio-headquartered C.H. Guenther & Son has manufactured food products for more than 175 years. Founded in Texas in 1851, the company employs more than 5,000 people across 32 manufacturing locations in the US, Canada and Western Europe.

CHG supplies value-added grain-based and frozen food products to foodservice customers and selected consumer markets. Its retail brands include Pioneer, White Wings, Sun-Bird, Mi Rancho and Cuisine Adventures. The business is owned by Pritzker Private Capital alongside management and other co-investors.