Earlier this month, bakery supplier Delice de France demerged from Aryzta through a management buyout.

The buyout was led by led by managing director, Thierry Cacaly and his team: Anthea Chia, Jenny Baylis, Max Hilton Jenvey, Martin Sturgess and non-executive director Philippe Carrier.

In a statement, Cacaly said the new firm would maintain an ‘exclusive relationship’ with Aryzta, which guarantees retailers access to the full range of products and services they have currently.

“What you will notice, is the new look and feel of our customer-first strategy,” he said.

Here, we speak to Cacaly to find out what the demerger means for your business:

1) What does the ‘customer first’ strategy mean and what changes will independent convenience retailers notice?

“The demerger from Aryzta will allow us to focus our business on its most important part – our customers. We are putting our customer at the heart of everything we do; from product development, marketing support, supply chain and beyond. This will allow Delice de France to support and nurture our customers by offering them products which their customers want and will return for more.”

2) Should retailers expect any disruption in service and if so, how will this be communicated?

“Retailers will experience no disruption in service as the only aspects of the business that have changed are bank details and reverting to the Delice de France brand. We have already written to all our customers to inform them of this change. Our customer service and sales teams will be on hand to assist with any customers who have any questions or queries.” 

3) What improvements and changes will Delice de France make next year to its service?

“We are looking at how we can improve everything we do as a business. We have already identified some key projects including reducing single-use plastics, reducing sugar and salt content across our product range and looking at how we can help retailers increase sales and reduce food wastage, which will help increase retailers’ margins.” 

4) What does this buyout mean for internal operations in the business?

“As a fully independent business, Delice de France is free to innovate across the entire food and beverage sector. We are already working with key customers and suppliers on product, brand and service innovation such as coffee and food to go. We look forward to revealing these new concepts and products over the next year.”