Lantmännen Unibake’s has aquired Australia’s Bakery Du Jour in Melbourne.

With an annual turnover of over 1.1 billion euros, Lantmännen Unibake currently operates 36 bakeries in 21 countries across multiple brands around the world, employing more than 6,000 people globally.

Lantmännen Unibake’s newly appointed Australian managing director Steve Dyason said, “We need to be tuned in to the unique opportunities, tastes and challenges presented by the Australian market.

“Most Europeans can barely comprehend the distances let alone the taste and market differences between Australian population centres.

“Comparing Perth to Sydney can be as varied as London and New York.”

The aquisition should not affect staff and suppliers, sales and marketing director Nicola West said.

“We recognise that great local knowledge is vested in sourcing and retaining both quality local suppliers and the best of great local staff.”

“We see our growth into Australia as a natural, familiar fit into our business and global citizenship models,” Mr Dyason said.

“We are people who share complementary values, goals, tastes and lifestyles.

“We also see the Australian ‘clean green’ brand as an asset that carries great flavour, particularly in Asia, where we envisage future opportunities to broaden our product portfolio.

“Of the many Australian bakery businesses we researched, Bakery Du Jour had all the best fundamentals so there seemed little point in reinventing the wheel.

“Australian ingredients, European experience with an Australian footprint … should make for a mutually productive future”.

In an era where so much manufacturing movement is heading offshore, this Lantmännen Unibake venture represents a vote of confidence in the Australian market.