Bells of Lazonby

What Bells of Lazonby does

Bells of Lazonby is a UK family-owned commercial bakery founded in 1946 by John Bell in Lazonby, Cumbria, and still owned and operated by the Bell family. The company runs two distinct production facilities from a single site at Edenholme Bakery: a conventional bakery producing traditional ambient and frozen baked goods (cakes, slices, tarts, loaf cakes, muffins, tray bakes, mince pies, seasonal products), and a dedicated Gluten, Wheat and Milk Free Bakery that avoids 12 of the 14 UK notifiable allergens and produces both vegan-approved and Coeliac Society-approved lines. Its flagship free-from brand, We Love Cake, was the fastest-growing Free From Sweet Bakery brand in the UK for three consecutive years and is the largest Free From Sweet Bakery brand in Australia.

The company operates a B2B wholesale go-to-market with three primary channels: UK key retailers (under company brands and private label), large UK food service providers including the national coffee shop sector (entered 2009), and overseas export markets supplied under the We Love Cake brand and via private label development at full-container scale. Technology is industrial rather than digital: an on-site NPD Development Kitchen, an in-house engineering team capable of building bespoke production machinery, and 2,250+ years of collective baking experience across the workforce. The most recent material investment is a £1 million, 450 sqm capacity expansion completed in November 2025.

Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held as Bells of Lazonby Limited with 251–500 employees, holds BRC Grade AA, RSPO, Vegan Society, and Coeliac Society certifications, and was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2006 for innovation in the Free From category.

Name

Bells of Lazonby

Legal name

Bells of Lazonby Limited

Website

https://bellsoflazonby.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Bells of Lazonby is a UK family-owned bakery founded in 1946, operating conventional and dedicated gluten, wheat, and milk-free production facilities. It supplies UK retailers, food service operators, and export markets with ambient and frozen bakery products under its We Love Cake free-from brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Bakery Manufacturing

NAICS

Commercial Bakeries (311812), Frozen Cakes, Pies, and Other Pastries Manufacturing (311813)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Bakery Manufacturing (Gluten-Free, Artisan, Health-Focused) (AFAKAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Frozen & Par-Baked Bakery Production (THAFAFAK), Private Label & Contract Bakery Wholesale (AFAIAFAK), Specialty Dietary Bakeries (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Allergen-Friendly) (THAFAFAI)

Keywords

• Commercial bakery manufacturing
• Free-from sweet bakery
• Gluten-free bakery products
• Bakery wholesale supply
• Private label bakery

Headquarters

HQ city

Penrith

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Retail Wholesale: Wholesale supply of baked goods to key retailers. Products sold under company's own brands including 'We Love Cake' and as private label to retail chains.
2. Food Service Supply: Supply to large food service providers including national coffee shop sector, caterers, and hospitality businesses. Entered National Coffee Shop Sector in 2009.
3. Export/Private Label: Export manufacturing under 'We Love Cake' brand and private label development for overseas partners. Manufacturing at scale to deliver full containers throughout the year.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Bells of Lazonby is a B2B bakery manufacturer producing both conventional and free-from (gluten, wheat and milk free) baked goods through two separate bakeries. The company supplies key retailers, large food service providers, and export partners with cakes, slices, pies, tarts, muffins, loaf cakes, tray bakes, mini bites, and cereals under the company's own brands (including 'We Love Cake') and private label. Products are offered in ambient and frozen formats across retail multi-packs, foodservice, and bulk packaging.

Product overview

Bells of Lazonby is a family bakery established in 1946, operating two bakeries: a Conventional Bakery and a dedicated Gluten, Wheat and Milk Free Bakery. Their product portfolio includes conventional products (mince pies, tarts, cutting cakes, round cakes, loaf cakes, mini bites, cake slices, tray bakes) alongside free-from alternatives under the We Love Cake sub-brand, which is the fastest growing Free From Sweet Bakery brand in the UK. The company offers both ambient and frozen formats across retail multi-packs, foodservice, and bulk channels. In 2023, they expanded into frozen and chilled desserts. Products are produced with RSPO certification, Vegan Society approval, and Coeliac Society approval, with BRC accreditation at Grade AA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• We Love Cake: Flagship Free From brand offering gluten, wheat and milk free bakery products. The fastest growing Free From Sweet Bakery brand in the UK over the past 3 years (YOY 2022/2023 Nielsen data), and the largest Free From Sweet Bakery brand in Australia since 2020.

Products and services

• Conventional Bakery Range B2B batch-baked conventional products including mince pies, tarts, cutting cakes, round cakes, loaf cakes, mini bites, cake slices, and tray bakes, supplied in ambient and frozen formats for retail and food service customers.
• Free From Bakery Range Dedicated Gluten, Wheat and Milk Free bakery avoiding 12 of 14 notifiable allergens, producing cake slices, mini bites, pies and tarts, snack bars, muffins, loaf cakes, mince pies, seasonal products, and cereals including porridge, muesli and granola with vegan production capability. Supplied to retail multi-packs, foodservice, and bulk channels.
• We Love Cake Brand Flagship Free-From brand offering gluten, wheat and milk free sweet bakery products including sticky toffee slices, raspberry ripple slices, mince pies, and other sweet bakery items. Fastest growing Free From Sweet Bakery brand in the UK for 3 consecutive years and largest Free From Sweet Bakery brand in Australia since 2020.
• We Love Cake Frozen and Chilled Desserts Frozen and chilled free-from desserts under the We Love Cake sub-brand, extending the company's free-from offering into the frozen and chilled dessert category for family favourites.
• Export Private Label Development Bespoke private label and We Love Cake branded export development for overseas partners, with scaled batch manufacturing to deliver full containers of product throughout the year.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fastest growing Free From Sweet Bakery brand in UK for 3 consecutive years (2020-2023)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bakeaway: UK private-label bakery manufacturer producing ambient and frozen cakes, slices and tray bakes for major retailers. Direct peer in the private-label and branded B2B wholesale bakery space, with similar customer types and product formats.
• Finsbury Food Group: UK-listed commercial bakery manufacturer supplying cakes, bread and free-from products to major retailers and foodservice. Directly comparable B2B wholesale model with both own-label and branded product lines, multi-site manufacturing, and overlapping customer set with Bells.
• Genius Foods (Genius Gluten Free): UK-based gluten-free bakery specialist selling bread and bakery products through major grocery retailers and foodservice. Closest direct competitor to Bells' We Love Cake range in the UK Free From sweet bakery category.

Broad incumbents

• Premier Foods: UK-listed ambient foods manufacturer with major cake and bakery brands (Mr Kipling, Cadbury cakes) sold through grocery. Broad incumbent with overlapping customers and product categories, though primarily branded ambient rather than free-from specialist.
• Warburtons: Family-owned UK bakery giant producing bread, rolls and baked goods at scale for grocery and foodservice. Comparable as a multi-generational family bakery with strong retail relationships, though specialising in conventional rather than free-from products.
• Associated British Foods (Kingsmill, Sunblest): Global food and retail conglomerate whose Allied Bakeries business produces Kingsmill and other bread/bakery brands for UK grocery. Broader incumbent competing for the same retailer shelf and foodservice contracts as Bells, primarily in conventional bakery.
• Hain Celestial (Newburn Bakehouse): Global natural and free-from food group whose Newburn Bakehouse range competes head-on with Bells in UK gluten-free bread and bakery. Larger incumbent with broader portfolio but directly overlapping in the free-from sweet bakery category.

Emerging players

• Dr. Schär: European gluten-free food specialist expanding its bread and sweet bakery range into UK retail. Comparable as a specialist free-from bakery competitor at greater scale internationally, with growing UK presence overlapping with We Love Cake in retailers.
• Mrs Crimble's: UK gluten-free baked goods brand owned by Hostess Brands, producing cakes, macaroons and confectionery. Overlaps with We Love Cake in free-from sweet bakery but with smaller scale and narrower product range.

Regional players

• Kelkin: Irish free-from and healthy food brand producing cereals, biscuits and snacks. Comparable free-from positioning to We Love Cake but primarily serving the Republic of Ireland market rather than direct UK competition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bellsoflazonbyapprenticeships
• Xx.com/bellsoflazonby

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bells of Lazonby