Loafing about: Moving freshly baked bread with confidence at European Bakery
There’s plenty of time, passion, and cost that goes into producing quality baking. The last thing bakers want to see is these efforts go to waste due to shipping damage. So, while it may not be the greatest thing since sliced bread, a no-nonsense built-tough carton is incredibly helpful for making sure baked goods gets from A to B in impeccable condition.
While Queenstown is popular with visitors, the adventure capital of the world is still relatively isolated. This remoteness means transporting goods in and out of the Wakatipu basin can be challenging. This is especially important when your product is bread – which is heavy, perishable, and easily squashed.
European Bakery has been in Queenstown for 25 years, and Peter Price and Amanda O’Donoghue have owned the business for eight years now.
Nowadays their goods travel north to Nelson, Hawkes Bay and New Plymouth as well as across Otago and Southland. And with fresh artisan buns, rolls, and loaves being packed into trucks each day, ensuring the precious cargo gets where it needs to go safely requires reliable packaging.
“There's a lot of labour within each of those boxes. Ingredient costs are high and transportation costs are considerable. So, we can’t afford to get it wrong.”
Amanda appreciates the small details in delivery logistics and packaging quality that help ensure big picture long-term success for the bakery.
“Logistically, there is a lot to consider. We used to have damage, but the boxes weren’t quite as robust.” she says. “Packaging performance depends not only on the quality of the packaging itself, but also on how the product is packed and handled.”
Everything goes out in number 10 boxes, which are packed then palletised. With boxes weighing anywhere between 5 and 12 kilograms the integrity of the carton is vital. If a box filled with bread rolls finds itself underneath a box filled with sourdough loaves the result can be less than ideal.
“There’s a lot of labour within each of those boxes” says Amanda. “Ingredient costs are high and transportation costs are considerable. So, we can’t afford to get it wrong.
“What we currently have are great – they’re robust boxes and we’re happy with them. They’re a bit thicker and they stand up to what we need.”
European Bakery’s Kayleigh Woods works closely with the ordering and supply side of the operation.
“We’ve always been pleased with the level of customer service (from Universal),” she says. “Orders are processed efficiently, and deliveries are dependable. Tina is always responsive, professional and great to deal with.”
The respect is mutual, with Universal BDM Tina Smith stating, “they (European Bakery) are a great team – the type of customer you want to do your best work for.”
“They just want a good product, one that’s going to work as advertised, taking as much stress out of transportation as possible,” says Tina. “There’s not a lot of room for stock holding, so we also need to ensure supply was fast and consistent.”
Baking is both an art and a science, and ensuring you have the right packaging is similar. The science of a strong carton combined with the art of correct pallet stacking needs to be aligned for the best result.
Thankfully, quality packaging is bread and butter for the Universal team.
“They (European Bakery) are a great team – the type of customer you want to do your best work for.”
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