Case Studies

Glasgow City Council

The Challenge

Development of a bespoke sandwich bread for the Encore Creative Catering direct services operation within Glasgow Caledonian University.

During a tour of McGhee's new bakery, a representative of the Encore Team casually remarked that they had been tasked with providing a baguette-style sandwich to be sold in the refectory of the new Saltire Building at the University. At the time, students were purchasing baguettes from a very well-known high street retail outlet. McGhee's Managing Director impressed the Council visitors by providing prototype samples within 45 minutes of the initial discussion.

Following this early success, McGhee’s went on to develop and trial a new product, given the name ‘Rustic Baguette’ which is sold daily in large quantities to the students and staff at the University.

As with all McGhee new products, each stage of the development of the Rustic Baguette was fully documented and tested in accordance with the BRC Global Standard under the Company’s grade ‘A’ certification by EFSIS.

Benefits to the Customer

Having been developed specifically to suit the needs of the University's caterers, the Rustic Baguette meets all their key specification requirements in terms of size, taste, texture and general appearance and allows the University to offer its customers a locally produced product in lieu of the foreign frozen loaves sold previously.

Size and shape were developed with sandwich filling in mind and McGhee's investment in state-of-the-art bread processing machinery, allowed development of a crust and taste profile equal to any continental breads with the added benefit of fresh local production.

McGhee's produce the baguette to suit the refectory opening hours and cater for functions and special ‘one-off’ events catered by the University.

The close working relationship between McGhee's and Encore allowed the rapid germination of ideas and the creation of a world class product that now sells extremely well within the University and elsewhere.

The One-O-One Group

The Challenge

Following a strategic review, the One-O-One Group decided to convert an operating division of the group’s retail portfolio, the One-O-One chain, from purely off-license drinks sales to general convenience stores in order to broaden their local area markets.

Within this realignment, One-O-One required a reliable supplier of bakery products and, whilst having had initial discussions with a competitor, decided after a comprehensive presentation by McGhee’s sales team to partner with McGhee’s and develop a multiple outlet order for rolls and morning goods, bread and pre-packed cakes.

In discussions with the customer, McGhee’s were able to empathise with the family owners of One-O-One due to the similar nature of McGhee’s ownership and the committed ‘hands- on’ ethos within the business.

After securing the One-O-One order, McGhee’s allocated dedicated logistics to service deliveries to the thirty shops in the chain and scheduled delivery times to interface with shop opening hours.

McGhee’s also provided branded point of sale displays and advertising and have regular dialogue with One-O-One on promotions and marketing.

Benefits to the Customer

From initial deliveries, One-O-One have trebled their sales of bakery goods over a five month period and expanded the range of product procured from McGhee’s to include bulk bread.

The established strength of the McGhee’s brand gave added credibility to One-O-One's new venture, and the range and reliable distribution network has allowed One-O-One to expand direct sales of bakery products and ancillary sales resulting from customers coming to the shops specifically to buy McGhee’s products.

A true working partnership exists between the Companies and McGhee’s are pro-active and responsive to all One-O-One interests and initiatives.

Retail, Public Sector and Catering Establishments

The Challenge

Having identified a significant potential market in central Scotland for a crispy morning roll, McGhee’s invested heavily in the specialised machinery required to produce this product and embarked on a development programme to optimise the consistent production of large quantities of the roll.

On completion of the trials, base sales of around 8,000 dozen rolls were established and this volume has grown steadily to sales of 50,000 dozen in 2006.

Production of the roll is now carried out daily over seven days and the Company’s mission is to supply the freshest crispy roll in Scotland to our customers.

Operating within the strict regulations of the BRC Global Standard, the crispy roll is manufactured to exacting standards that ensure the quality of ingredients and safety of the production process.

Benefits to the Customer

With the strength of the long established McGhee’s brand name and a strong local preference for the crispy roll product, McGhee’s have developed a market leading roll that effectively attracts retail trade.

Market research has established that core product sales on items such as rolls generate significant ‘spin-off’ sales and, with the support of point of sale displays and advertising material, primary customers for McGhee’s products benefit from a profit-generating all round product and marketing package.

The rolls are distributed throughout central Scotland by McGhee’s fleet of 50 vans and delivery logistics are managed in a manner that optimises delivery times to customers' preferences ensuring that fresh rolls are always available for the customer to sell.