The 40th Birthday of Bakers Delight
We’ve had some customers tell us that while visiting Australia they stumbled across a bakery that looked suspiciously like COBS Bread. Similar products, similar bakery layout… only to find in a follow-up Google search that those Bakers Delight bakeries are a part of COBS Bread’s parent company.
As of this year, Bakers Delight has been around for 40 years and are currently in the midst of their 40th Birthday Celebrations. Being a part of this bakery network is something that we at COBS Bread are very, very proud of. You might wonder what makes us the same- yet different- from Bakers Delight. Here’s a quick breakdown of how it works:
SAME
- CEOs and Founders: Bakers Delight and COBS Bread were founded by Roger and Lesley Gillespie. The company is still family-owned: daughter and son-in-law team Elise Gillespie and Dave Christie are CEOs of Bakers Delight and COBS Bread; son Aaron Gillespie is the President of COBS Bread. Roger and Lesley now hold positions on the Board of Bakers Delight.
- Products: A high number of products at Bakers Delight and COBS Bread are the same. The Gillespie family has five generations of bakers to boast, and a recipe book to go along with it. Many recipes were developed by Bakers Delight employees, and are customer favourites in both Oceania and North America, such as our Cape Seed loaf and many of our scone varieties!
- Franchising Expertise: There’s a reason Bakers Delight has over 600 locations in Australia and New Zealand, and COBS Bread has over 130 in Canada and the US. While Bakers Delight’s and COBS Bread’s franchising strategies are adopted to each market, the structure, support, and system of the network is proven and a benefit to franchisees and customers. In fact, in 2019, Bakers Delight was named Franchise Group of the Year by the Australian Retailers Association, and COBS Bread has been received the Franchisee’s Choice Designation by the Canadian Franchise Association for 10 consecutive years.
- Commitment to Community: Both COBS Bread and Bakers Delight bakery operators are a big part of their communities. With the End of Day Giving programs and charitable partnerships, each bakery in every neighbourhood is there to be an active member.
DIFFERENT:
- Head Offices: Bakers Delight’s support office is in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia and the COBS Bread support office is located in Vancouver, BC Canada. While each organization has its own Operations, HR, Finance, Marketing, Supply Chain, Information Services, Real Estate, Franchising and Product departments, there’s ongoing contact and collaboration between all the “sister” departments across the pond.
- Products: Wait a minute… yes, this was also in the “Same” list above. That’s because while we do have a lot of the same products, each company develops their own product line based on customer demands and national product trends. That’s not to say that a successful product that launches at COBS Bread doesn’t end up in the Bakers Delight recipe book- after testing and trials, often times they do. However, its recognized that what may please one customer base may not work for the other. Sometimes, there are simply variations or alterations that need to be made- for example, the shape and toppings of our pizza products.
- Brand look and feel: Both Bakers Delight and COBS Bread developed new branding in the last three years to support brand identity and evolution.
Congratulations once again to Bakers Delight- check out what they’re doing this month to celebrate.
If you’re interested in franchising, click to submit an inquiry or apply to become a COBS Bread franchisee today.