Larger bakeries to increase Hot Bread capacity: CEO
Hot Bread Kitchen is looking to have larger bakeries. Group chief executive officer John Leslie Samisoni said this was to meet the market demand for their baked goods.
Mr Samisoni was announced as the new group CEO taking over the role from his mother Mere Samisoni.
Mrs Samisoni, the visionary Hot Bread Kitchen founder, remains as board chairperson.
Production capacity
As group CEO, part of Mr Samisoni’s plan is to increase the company’s production capacity.
“We are going to need to increase our production capacity which we have not been able to do because the bakeries have pretty much reached maximum machines capacity.
“In a lot of the machines we are getting about 85-90 per cent production capacity while some are getting to 100 per cent.
“We will have to put more production into larger bakeries to be able to produce more,” he said.
The popular bakery have also introduced oven-roasted chicken at its University of the South Pacific cafe.
New products
Mr Samisoni said this was part of the company’s evolution on testing out new products in the business.
“If we are going to be centralising more and more of our bread production then we need to have some value adding into the shops so we are looking at doing things like pizzas.
“So far it has gone well.
“With the compliance environment that we have in Fiji, we really have to start centralising because that’s the best chance you have of controlling food safety, quality and that sort of stuff just by the demand of the market and the legislative environment so we will sort of change the central thrust of our business,” he said.
HBK has 27 outlets across the country.
Hot Bread Kitchen has 27 outlets across the country.