La Fornaia named Food Processing 'Company of the Year'  

Leading speciality bread supplier, La Fornaia, has been named Company of the Year at the prestigious 2005 Food Processing Awards.

"The award is made for 'Overall Excellence', and it is a recognition of the commitment of everybody at La Fornaia to high quality and innovation," says Sales and Commercial Director Ken Glennon, who accepted the award in a ceremony at the Copthorne Effingham Park Hotel at Crawley in Sussex.

"La Fornaia changed the way people in Britain think about bread, by introducing a range of high quality Mediterranean style products, like Ciabatta, Panini and Focaccia, which most people had never seen before," he says. "But what pleases me the most about this award is that it recognises that we are not resting on our laurels."

"The past, present and future have played an important role in winning this award," he says. "It recognises, for example, that we've continued a New Product Development programme which is driving forward growth, 26% year on year. In the last year we have developed a new range of products specifically designed for operators in the foodservice and catering sectors and we've introduced Bruschettine, a crispy toasted ciabatta or focaccia slice which is ideal for snacking or picnics."

"We bake hand-crafted breads for almost all the major multiple retailers, as well as a large number of food service operators and wholesalers," he says. "We also produce an organic range of English speciality breads for the Prince of Wales' Duchy Originals brand, as well as Italian style breads under the Loyd Grossman name."

"It is important that people love the taste of our bread, wherever they buy it and on whatever occasion they consume it," says Ken Glennon. "It takes hard work to achieve a consistently high quality, great tasting product and all the team have pride and passion in working for the Company of the Year."

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For further information contact:
Suzanne Howe
La Fornaia Press Office
Tel: +44 (0)1732 875697
Email: info@suzannehowe.com