BFree Foods
Company Background
In a world where people want great tasting food as part of a lifestyle that is about living better, BFree exists to inspire and empower living free. BFree gives consumers the freedom to choose from a range of great tasting, free from products made from ingredients that improve their health, energy, happiness and well-being. Brainchild of Ronan McNamee, original co-founder of Cuisine de France, Ronan set about to develop the best tasting and best performing gluten free bread on the market. Since establishing the business in 2011, BFree Foods has worked to bring a large variety of gluten-free baked goods to the market to cater for both sufferers and health-conscious consumers. All BFree Foods products are vegan friendly, so they suit dairy & egg free consumers also and have a wide portfolio of award-winning products including loaves, wraps, pittas, baguettes and pizza bases to name a few which are all distributed to several different markets globally including USA, Australia, Scandinavia and Europe. BFree now employs over 40 people, has a turnover at 30% growth rate and now trades in over 21 countries internationally.
Challenge/Opportunity
BFree came to Teagasc in search of a hub to conduct market research and product formulation testing that would enable them to not only continuously improve their current range but to have a think space to create completely new innovations for its markets. The challenge was to find a partner to work with that would allow them the resources and space to replicate large scale production but in a test environment.
Teagasc Solution
BFree worked in a dedicated incubation space at Teagasc, Ashtown with access to pilot processing and analytical equipment. The company are engaging with our researchers, availing of Teagasc facilities and expertise with a view to exploring collaborative research opportunities to support their continuing innovation, through the Prepared Consumer Food Centre.
Type of engagement
The funding of the project was part funded by Enterprise Ireland and part funded by Bfree Foods. Bfree Foods continue to be Teagasc clients within the Teagasc Prepared Consumer Food Centre, Ashtown.
Impact
Teagasc is actively supporting the R&D needs of a highly innovative global company supplying some of the world’s largest retailers including Tesco, Sainsburys, Kroger, Costco, Walmart. The facility has added pace and efficiency to the NPD process and some of these customers have listed new products created in Teagasc within the last year.
Testimony
“Working in our dedicated space has enabled us to not only become creative in our new product development capabilities but has in fact achieved listings in some global markets for us. We are proud to bring our customers to the site and show them the home of research and development. It is a real asset we have and working with the team in Teagasc has been very successful for us.”
Alex Murphy, General Manager at BFree Foods