STORY: Baker & Baker appoints International Business Development Director

Baker & Baker, a specialist bakery products manufacturer, has appointed Ryan Perera as International Business Development Director as the company prepares to enter new geographies and expand its current footprint within international markets.

Formerly known as CSM Bakery Solutions, and headquartered on the Wirral in the UK, Baker & Baker already has a strong European-wide footprint, with twelve manufacturing sites and a diverse retailer and food service customer base throughout the continent.

Ryan joins Baker & Baker from Kerry Group, where he was responsible for driving the branded food service business across Middle East and Africa as the Sales Director of the business. Whilst based in Dubai, Ryan will now work towards exploring growth opportunities for Baker and Baker throughout its international markets which includes Central and Easter EU markets, Russia/CIS, Middle East/ Africa and APAC markets.

Prior to working at Kerry Group, Ryan held commercial leadership roles at various leading organisations and contributed towards delivering commercial excellence for brands owned by Aujan/Coca Cola, KraftHeinz and Mars within the Middle East. Ryan also holds a Masters in Global Marketing from the University of Liverpool.

Baker & Baker has delivered consistent growth within its European business in recent years, and finalised the sale of its ingredients arm earlier in 2021. The business also has an exclusive licensing agreement with Mondelez, to manufacture a range of bakery products under the prominent Oreo, Cadbury and Milka brand names.

Elizabeth Langley-Jones, Chief Commercial Officer at Baker & Baker, commented: “We’re extremely pleased to welcome Ryan to the team. Whilst our European markets continue to drive growth as we exit the most stringent COVID-19 restrictions, we now have the capabilities and product expertise to establish new customer relationships further afield. Ryan’s experience operating in these markets will be invaluable.”

Ryan Perera added: “There is a great opportunity for Baker & Baker to grow its presence across Middle East and Africa especially within the American Sweet Bakery segment. While we focus on entering new geographies within Middle East and Africa we will also drive more effort in expanding our footprint across Central/ Eastern Europe and Russia/CIS where we’ve already got a successful business.

“We have a clear point of differentiation in many markets with our licensing partners and the opportunity to create excitement within the category. I’m looking forward to this new challenge and working with customers as markets begin to recover from the pandemic.”

For more information visit www.bakerandbaker.eu