The 20-year-old business specializes in gluten-free and vegan food
Bakery group Baker & Baker has taken over the Lazy Day Foods and vegan baking business and is vowing a “bright future” for the Scotland-based business and its employees.
Lazy Day Foods was founded in 2006 and has become one of the largest free-from specialists in Britain, with a range of meals and treats free of ingredients including gluten, milk, eggs and nuts. It moved to an allergen-friendly bakery it built in Harthill, North Lanarkshire, in 2017, where it employs around 190 people.
Lazy Day makes some 75 permanent and seasonal product lines for mainly UK retail and foodservice customers.
The deal will allow Wirral’s Baker & Baker to grow in the independent sector. The new owner plans to maintain and grow the Lazy Day consumer brand, and will expand the company’s branded and private label businesses in the UK and Europe.
Baker & Baker was launched in 2021 as the successor to CSM Bakery Solutions, following the sale of the CSM Ingredients business. The Lazy Days deal is the second it has made as a standalone business, following a deal to acquire the Pastel de Nata facility in Peniche, Portugal in 2022.
Baker & Baker currently has five manufacturing sites in the UK, with the first Lazy Day in Scotland. The group employs more than 2,600 people.
Matthew Acheson, CEO of Baker & Baker, said: “We are delighted to welcome Lazy Day Foods to the Baker & Baker family.
“We have strong expertise in gluten-free bakeries through our Ashington site, and this acquisition supports our expansion into the “free from” category, which represents an exciting area of growth.
“We believe that our scale and broad customer relationships will accelerate Lazy Day Foods’ growth, while Lazy Day Foods’ experience and expertise will enhance our capabilities and category offerings.
“We’re firmly committed to maintaining our operations and employee base at the Lazy Day Foods site in Harthill, and we look forward to seeing the business continue to grow – we’re excited about the growth potential over the coming years.”
Harthill Lazy Day Foods site in Scotland(Image: Baker & Baker)
In a joint statement, the chairman of Lazy Day Foods David Kilshaw, and joint managing director Emer Bustard and Dr. Sally Beattie, said: “We are immensely proud of what Lazy Day Foods has become since it was founded in 2006. Our mission has always been to create great tasting free-from and vegan treats so that no one is missed for the daily life of the team, we are fantastic thank you. customers and suppliers, for their support over the years.
“At Baker & Baker, we have found the right owner to take the business forward. They have the scale, expertise and international reach to bring Lazy Day to even more free shoppers.
“We are delighted that the Lazy Day brand and the Harthill site will be at the heart of Baker & Baker’s independent growth plans, and we believe the business and its people have a bright future.”