Bakery group Baker & Baker has taken over free-from and vegan baking business Lazy Day Foods, with the new owner pledging a "bright future" for the company and its Scotland-based employees.
Lazy Day Foods was founded in 2006 and has become one of Britain's biggest free-from specialists, offering a range of cakes and treats free from ingredients including gluten, milk, eggs and nuts. The business moved into a purpose-built allergen-friendly bakery in Harthill, North Lanarkshire, in 2017, where it employs around 190 people.
Expanding the free-from range
Lazy Day makes some 75 permanent and seasonal product lines for mainly UK retail and food service customers. The deal will allow Wirral's Baker & Baker to grow its presence in the growing free-from sector.
The new owner plans to keep and grow the Lazy Day consumer brand and will expand the company's branded and private label business across the UK and Europe.
Strategic growth for Baker & Baker
Baker & Baker was launched in 2021 as the successor to CSM Bakery Solutions, after the sale of the CSM Ingredients business. The Lazy Day deal is the second it has made as a standalone business, following its acquisition of a Pastel de Nata facility in Peniche, Portugal, in 2022.
Baker & Baker now has five manufacturing sites in the UK, with Lazy Day its first in Scotland. The group employs more than 2,600 people.
Leadership comments
Matthew Acheson, CEO of Baker & Baker, said: "We're delighted to welcome Lazy Day Foods into the Baker & Baker family. We have strong expertise in gluten-free bakery via our Ashington site, and this acquisition supports our expansion into the adjacent category of 'free-from', which represents an exciting area of growth.
"We believe that our scale and broad customer relationships will accelerate the growth of Lazy Day Foods, while Lazy Day Foods's deep experience and expertise will further enhance our capabilities and category offering. We're firmly committed to maintaining the operation and employee base at the Lazy Day Foods site in Harthill, and we expect to see the business continue to flourish – we're excited about the growth possibilities over the coming years."
In a joint statement, Lazy Day Foods' chairman David Kilshaw, and joint managing directors Emer Bustard and Dr Sally Beattie, said: "We are immensely proud of what Lazy Day Foods has become since it was founded in 2006. Our mission has always been to make great tasting free-from and vegan treats so that no one missed out on the joys of everyday life. We'd like to thank our fantastic team in Harthill, and our customers and suppliers, for their support over the years.
"In Baker & Baker, we have found the ideal owner to take the business forward. They have the scale, expertise and international reach to bring Lazy Day to many more free-from shoppers. We are delighted that the Lazy Day brand and our Harthill site will be at the heart of Baker & Baker's free-from growth plans, and we're confident the business and its people have a very bright future ahead."
