It is also one of the three levers on which the company chaired by Jordi Gallés (second generation of the family) has relied on to boost its growth. In the last financial year, Europastry recorded net sales of 1,121 million euros, 32.6% more than the previous year. The company founded 36 years ago by Pere Gallés, specialized in the production of pre-baked breads and frozen pastries, began a new strategic plan in 2017 that has led it to increase its turnover by 87% in these five years, apart from the hiatus of the downturn. of the pandemic. And it has consolidated it as one of the five main companies in the sector worldwide – in Spain they lead the market.
“Our growth in recent years is basically due to three big decisions,” summarizes Jordi Gallés. The first, specialization. “In 2017 we sold our chain of stores and became a company that is only dedicated to the frozen dough segment; All our efforts as a company are focused on being specialists within this sector,” he adds. The second force, internationalization. Half of the company's sales already come from outside Spain, and the United States has become its second market – it is present in 80 countries. “Starting from a pioneering idea from my father, we developed in the Spanish market in the nineties, and we already saw that we had a technological advantage over our competitors in the rest of the world. We decided to focus on growing in Europe, the United States and, now especially, in Latin America; “We are a company that looks to the west,” says Gallés. To support this expansion, Europastry has opened new production sites around the world and expanded some existing factories. It has a total of 26 plants in Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, the United States, Romania and Mexico, the latter two inaugurated in 2023. Recently, it has also launched the expansion of its plant in Azuqueca de Henares (Guadalajara), with an investment of 50 million euros, to double production capacity, specializing in rustic bread, glass bread and brioche.
Apart from organic growth, the company's priority, the group has made some purchases to gain strength in new niches, such as savory pastries with the acquisition of the Galician Ingapan. “We do not rule out new purchases, but if they occur they will be strategic, highly selected and with a specific direction,” highlights Gallés.
Finally, Europastry has carried out a process of product diversification and innovation – the third axis of its strategic plan – so that it already has 4,000 references in its catalogue. The baguette loaf, which previously contributed the majority of sales, now only accounts for 7% of its revenue. “My father promoted the baguette segment,” comments the president of Europastry; "Now we have made a very clear commitment to new value-added niches within the frozen dough market."
Customers of bakeries, hotels and restaurants and distribution (the three channels with which the company works) demand other types of products. Gallés identifies a greater consumer preference for “quality products, that have the same flavors as before, that do not contain preservatives.” Hence its production line of bread made with sourdough, with slow fermentation. Indulgence is another of the vectors that drives the sector today, with products that are easy to handle and at the same time are eye-catching.
“Our ambition is to lead the world of baking and transform it, not through quantity, but through innovation,” summarizes Jordi Gallés. It is – he continues – about the mark that his father left on the group. “He instilled in us the value of always moving forward, he had an innate ability to interpret trends, to go beyond,” he emphasizes.
An example of this vision of making the most of opportunities is Jordi Gallés' favorite product: crystalline bread. “It is a kind of glass coke that before the pandemic we only sold in Catalonia.” With the closure of hotels and restaurants during Covid, the product was no longer marketed, so they prepared it to sell it in the United States. “And it has been a success; Now Americans also eat coca de vidre.”
