History

The Corny Bakers activities started in 1972 by a baker in Amsterdam. He decided to produce corn products for American soldiers based in Germany. After a tumultuous time the company was taken over by the previous owner Mr Van Manen who came up with the name Corny Bakers.

Mr Van Manen reorganised the company as it was, searched for a large business partner in the field of Mexican/Texan products, and found Old El Paso, at the time not yet active in Europe.

Production in Europe and expansion of product range

Increased demand in the industry made Old El Paso decide to establish a branch in Europe shortly thereafter. It was established in Weesp and Mr Van Manen sold products on commission for a number of years. However, in the years that followed Old El Paso increasingly switched their focus to the retail market, turning food service into a marginal product. The current owner, Mr René Kamerbeek, who was ready for a new challenge, took over Corny Bakers in September 1995. At the time, Corny Bakers was still a small company with only three staff members. First of all, he improved the logistics side of the business and in the years that followed implemented further improvements. Corny Bakers proceeded to experience a steady growth and the product range was expanded drastically; from the original 40 products to a comprehensive range of 350 to 400 products.

Growth by takeover

In the year 2000 Corny Bakers and Old El Paso parted ways because the latter no longer wanted to serve the food service market. Shortly thereafter Corny Bakers took over its largest competitor, Sunshine Foods in Amersfoort. This company focused mainly on supply to wholesale businesses, which meant a welcome addition for Corny Bakers, as their main focus at the time was the supply to restaurateurs. Due to the growth of the business Corny Bakers had to move to a new company property, which was eventually found at Nederhorst de Berg (1.500 m2 surface area).

Independent production facility

During the course of 2005 Corny Bakers took a number of large strategic decisions. An analysis was made of the products that were satisfactory, and the products that were considered of insufficient quality.  It was decided that the company would produce a number of products under a private label. In Weesp a new company property was identified, which was reconstructed and food graded in subsequent years. For example, new floors were constructed, walls were placed, an extremely large cooling installation was installed, and conditioned spaces were designed. During this time Corny Bakers started to produce many products independently. For example, tortilla chips, corn products such as tortillas, taco shells, and taco cones. Ready-to-eat products such as Chili con Carne, Wraps, Taquitos, and Empanadas were also prepared.

Years of steady growth ensued for Corny Bakers, and the company exported substantially to countries such as the UK, Italy, Russia, Spain, Greece, the Middle-East, Scandinavian countries, and Turkey.

Back to the core business

In 2012 Corny Bakers sold the successful production company and refocused on the core business; the import/export and procurement/selling of Mexican/Texan products. From our new office at ´s-Graveland the company now serves the Benelux and a large number of clients throughout Europe and the Middle-East. In the next few years the product range will be expanded further with specialty sauces and snack products. For this year and the years ahead, Corny Bakers has set ambitious targets. That is why a number of large internal changes were also implemented, such as the increase of commercial staff and an upgrade to the back office.

A new development in 2013 was the entirely new web shop for existing and new business relations, which simplified the ordering process for our clients substantially. Electronic invoicing was also introduced. Corny Bakers now looks toward a bright future as more and more wholesalers and restaurateurs embrace the Corny Bakers philosophy.

Just like Corny Bakers, they realise that ultimately quality is what guarantees a good turnover.