US bakery manufacturer C.H. Guenther (CHG) has expanded its UK operations with the launch of a 172-square-metre centre of excellence (CoE) in Coventry.
The new site will help CHG’s customers—including quick-service restaurants, foodservice businesses and retailers—create, trial and optimise new bakery products. The company expects the investment to speed up the introduction of premium bakery ranges across the UK and wider European market.
The move reflects several food and drink consumer trends. Tastewise’s 2026 UK panel reported a 44.9% increase in ‘premium consumer need’ over the past year, while demand for comfort products, which frequently overlaps with premiumisation, climbed by 73.3%.
CHG has also identified rising customer interest in free-from products, smaller serving formats and protein-enriched bakery items. These developments align with wider food and beverage industry trends, as manufacturers respond to changing consumer expectations and seek to broaden their product portfolios.
The Coventry centre includes a commercial-scale bakery, a customer demonstration kitchen, sensory assessment areas, an innovation suite and dedicated collaboration zones. Together, these facilities will enable CHG and its customers to develop and evaluate new concepts before they move into full-scale production.
“CHG’s new centre of excellence provides our customers partnership in innovation and developmental testing, ensuring ideas can move seamlessly from concept to commercial production, helping bring exciting new menu ideas to market more quickly, consistently and at scale,” commented Paul Tripp, European vice president and MD for CHG.
The new C.H. Guenther innovation hub. (C.H. Guenther)
“This investment is part of CHG’s long-term strategy to strengthen our growing relationships with leading food service brands through innovation, operational excellence and continued investment in our UK and EU manufacturing. We’re delighted by the initial feedback from customers who agree the centre is industry-leading and a unique one-stop shop for collaborative innovation between CHG and our customers.”
The CoE forms part of a multimillion-pound programme involving CHG and its partners to enhance the company’s UK manufacturing infrastructure. The programme included the £38 million Coventry bakery, which opened in 2023 and now has the capacity to produce approximately 72,000 buns each hour.
The investment supports the company’s response to evolving food manufacturing trends, food processing technology requirements and food and drink industry innovation. It also gives customers a platform to address developments in food and drink packaging, food and drink marketing, food and drink sustainability, food distribution trends and food and drink regulations.
Headquartered in San Antonio, CHG operates 32 manufacturing sites across the US, Canada and Western Europe.