Over the last 78 years, Bells of Lazonby has become well known as one of Cumbria’s most successful homegrown businesses, producing cakes and sweet treats that are enjoyed across the UK and beyond.

However, speak to managing director Tim Conder and he will tell you the team at its Edenholme Bakery are focused on more than just baking - they are on a mission to spread joy.

“We like to say that each individual treat we make is a moment of joy,” says Tim.

Last year it produced 105 million such moments and is on track to make 120 million more this year, supplying them to almost every UK retailer imaginable.

Bells of Lazonby also supplies its goods to Australia for sale at stores including Woolworths, shipping to ports on the east and west coast of the country.

The history of the business goes back to 1946 when John Bell, who passed away in 2022, began a bakery in Lazonby, making bread and rolls at home and delivering them alongside other groceries in a fleet of vans known as the ‘Bellsmobiles’.

The business evolved to have a chain of shops across the area selling a range of baked goods and now focuses its operations on working with all major UK supermarkets, wholesale, foodservice and national coffee shops.

(Image: Bells of Lazonby)

It began developing its current location 40 years ago, a former railway yard and station on the Settle to Carlisle line, just along from the current Lazonby and Kirkoswald station.

In 2002, second generation owner Michael Bell saw the potential in the gluten-free market and set up a free-from bakery on the site.

"We have the two bakeries on two different sides of the road into the site," says Tim.

"The left hand side is gluten, wheat and dairy-free and then we also make a lot of vegan products from there.”

This includes Bells of Lazonby’s own gluten-free brand We Love Cake, which has grown to become the largest free-from sweet bakery brand in Australia in addition to sales in the UK.

About 50 per cent of the business’ trade is made up selling free-from and vegan cakes made in its specialist facility which, in industry jargon, is “fully segregated” - meaning that ingredients containing the allergens which can trigger adverse reactions never enter the building.

"We believe we were the first gluten, wheat and dairy-free, dedicated facility in the UK," says Tim.

On the other side of the road is the standard bakery, which makes cakes and sweet treats containing all the traditional ingredients which are supplied to national coffee shop chains.

Although times were tough in 2020/21 due to the impact of Covid, the business bounced back to forecast turnover of £42m this year, double the pre-pandemic turnover.

The number of employees has also grown by around 100 in the last two years to 350, no small feat in a rural area with low unemployment.

Tim says it works hard to keep its staff through measures such as paying above the Real Living Wage and offering additional benefits like free hot drinks and fruit.

(Image: Bells of Lazonby)

“This results in great loyalty from our staff, with over 10 per cent of the workforce having been here for over 20 years, five per cent over 30 years, with our longest serving member of the team approaching 54 years continuous service,” he says.

However, the challenge of finding new people means it is unlikely the size of the workforce will increase more in the coming years, with growth instead being driven by automation and finding efficiencies.

"The workforce availability just isn't there, in Lazonby, or in Penrith and the surrounding area," he says.

"The challenge of recruitment and headcount is such that, if we want to grow any further, we have to try and find ways of increasing our output with the same number of people and that means adding areas of automation.”

The aim is for technology to take on some of the more monotonous processes, such as packing and palletising, allowing the people to focus on those elements which require skills and experience.

"One of our biggest successes is quality, secondly, it will be innovation and then thirdly it will be flexibility, all delivered through our brilliant people,” says Tim.

“Any automation we do has to be a process that is still allowing us to be flexible for our customers.

“We're never going to be the lowest cost producer, but I do believe we are the best quality producer and the most flexible and give the best service.”

In order to grow further, the bakery is currently carrying out work to rationalise part of the site to increase efficiency of movement and access for wagons.

A planning application has also been logged with Westmorland and Furness Council for a larger, more long-term development in a field adjacent to the site, to build a large facility which will allow it to store products onsite and reduce traffic through the village.

Currently it has to store baked goods - for example, 22 million mince pies already made, some of which are destined for Australia this Christmas - in warehouses in either Penrith and Carlisle, creating a large amount of vehicle movements and expense.

"We've got demand that we know could grow further,” says Tim.

“The challenge will be how do we grow sales without increasing our headcount? If that isn't feasible how do we optimise our output?

"One of the challenges for this area is that we have physical constraints on space, which is why our plans for this site are so important.”

Future growth is also forever on the minds of the team in the bakery’s research and development department.

It includes senior concept developer Danny Parsons, who has the enviable job of going on “cake safaris” to large cities both in the UK and overseas to try and second guess the trends in treats months or years ahead.

He says the rise of social media means fashions from all over the world spread much more quickly than they did previously when, for example, America would be one of the main leaders due to its dominance of traditional media such as film and TV.

"We try to predict which way the market is moving in; not just around the flavour profile but around sustainability and ingredients, whether it's health, or indulgence or size and portability," says Danny.

"As a consumer, I think portability and health are going to be very much at the forefront.

“I think the generation of today are always on the move, always thinking that they've got 10 hours in the day, how can I best spend those 10 hours? How do I eat this indulgent treat, but not take up too much of my day sitting in the coffee shop?

“I think it's moving towards that healthy, indulgent snack, which you can enjoy but still have time to go about your day.”

A reduced carbon footprint and environmental impact are also on the minds of both businesses and consumers.

As such the company is working to try and green its own supply chain as well as prove its sustainability credentials to customers.

It installed a solar array which produces 25 per cent of its energy 18 months ago and uses a supplier for the remainder which draws power from renewable sources.

The factory has also begun recovering heat from a compressor it uses in some processes to power its industrial dishwasher.

Tim is clear that however the company grows, Lazonby will continue to remain its home, just as it does for the members of the Bell family, who still sit on its board.

“Sometimes people call us Bells but that’s not quite right, we’re Bells of Lazonby and we’re proud of our history,” says Tim.

“It’s a beautiful location for people to come to work and enjoy. Our heartland is here and we have no desire to change that. We plan to be here for the long term and continue making a difference for our community and our people.”