Haighs Bakery

Haighs Bakery successfully pivots and sees sales soar

After suffering from a significant reduction in sales during the first five months of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, Haighs Bakery received support through the LEP to help pivot their business model and successfully expand into home deliveries. As a result, the business has seen an uplift in sales and is now trading 30 per cent above pre-Covid-19 levels.

Key achievements include:

• The introduction of an online ordering service 
• The launch of Bakebox – a service providing pre-measured ingredients and recipe suggestions for baking at home
• The development of low carb product with the food production company, Keeto Life – Seriously Low Carb

Haighs Bakery is a third-generation family-owned business that has been operating since 1950. The company makes and delivers bread and confectionery to over 300 clients across Yorkshire, including schools, cafes, restaurants and public sector catering facilities.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, many of the businesses key customers closed and Haighs lost 80 per cent of its revenue overnight. The bakery quickly pivoted to online orders and home deliveries as a way of generating much-needed cash flow and within one month had created a range of bake-at-home bread and confectionery products for its customers.

Adam Haigh, Director of Haighs Bakery, was matched with an Account Manager through the LEP Investment Readiness programme delivered by Winning Pitch and introduced a contact to help develop the new online shop. The new venture for Haighs has proved popular with the local community. 

Support on the programme included:

• One-to-one account management to access sources of finance, including a Bounce Back Loan and information on claiming R&D Tax Credits
• Networking with like-minded business owners, allowing Adam to discuss his challenges and plans with others and learn from those with similar aspirations and experiences.

Haighs Bakery continues to grow and develop new bake-at-home products to add to its online offering. In addition, following its recent success, Haighs has created several new roles within the team and are now looking for new premises to expand to support future growth.

The Investment Readiness programme is delivered by Winning Pitch on behalf of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (the LEP) and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).