Park Cakes

What Park Cakes does

Park Cakes is a UK-based B2B private-label manufacturer of celebration cakes, seasonal baked goods, dessert slices, and hot cross buns, supplying the grocery channel for over 80 years. The company operates two manufacturing sites in Greater Manchester — encompassing six bakeries and approximately 2,000 employees — producing more than 130 million units annually for Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons, and a growing roster of overseas banners including Coles (Australia), Loblaw and Metro (Canada), and Spinneys (Middle East). At the Oldham site, Marks & Spencer accounts for an estimated 85% of output, making the M&S relationship both the company's anchor partnership and its principal concentration risk.

The product portfolio spans core celebration cakes (including the IP-protected Colin the Caterpillar family), premium ranges, seasonal SKUs such as mince pies and hot cross buns, dessert slices, and a recently launched Free From / gluten-free range produced on a dedicated line co-invested in with M&S. Production is a conventional large-scale bakery operation; the company's competitive edge sits in long-standing retailer relationships, co-developed SKUs, scale economics across six bakeries, and a highly tenured workforce (100+ staff with 30+ years of service). The business model is straightforward private-label manufacturing: the company designs, bakes, and packs retailer-branded cakes under multi-year supply agreements, earning revenue per unit delivered into retailer distribution centers. A small export book across Australia, Canada, and the Middle East extends the same model offshore.

In March 2026 Park Cakes secured an eight-figure debt facility from HSBC UK earmarked for capacity expansion, new product lines, and international growth. Operational sustainability progress — a 20% reduction in food waste since 2016, a 20% energy reduction, and 18 million litres of water saved — is positioned as part of the value proposition to retailer ESG and Net Zero procurement teams, though the input does not quantify the commercial conversion of those programmes.

Name

Park Cakes

Legal name

Park Cake Bakeries Ltd

Website

https://parkcakes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Park Cakes is a UK B2B private-label cake and dessert manufacturer producing 130M+ units annually across two Greater Manchester sites for retailers including M&S, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Aldi, Lidl, and Morrisons, with growing exports to Australia, Canada, and the Middle East.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Bakery Manufacturing

NAICS

Commercial Bakeries (311812), Bread and Bakery Product Manufacturing (31181), Frozen Cakes, Pies, and Other Pastries Manufacturing (311813)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050)

akta.pro primary industry

Wholesale / Commercial Bakeries (B2B Supply) (THAFAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cake Shops & Custom Celebration Cakes (THAFAFAC), Specialty Dietary Bakeries (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Allergen-Friendly) (THAFAFAI)

Keywords

• Cake manufacturing
• Bakery products
• Private label desserts
• Celebration cakes
• Gluten-free bakery

Headquarters

HQ city

Oldham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. B2B Cake and Dessert Manufacturing: Park Cakes manufactures cakes and hot desserts for major UK and international retailers. Revenue is generated through supplying private-label and branded products to retailers. The company produces over 130 million products annually, with M&S accounting for 85% of Oldham site output.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Core offering

Park Cakes is a UK-based commercial bakery manufacturer that produces and supplies cakes, hot desserts and pastries on a private-label and branded basis to major UK and international retailers. The company operates six bakeries across two manufacturing sites in Greater Manchester (Oldham and Bolton), producing over 130 million products annually, and is best known as the producer of the M&S Colin the Caterpillar cake range.

Product overview

Park Cakes is a leading UK Cake and Hot Dessert manufacturer operating six bakeries across two manufacturing sites in Greater Manchester. The company produces over 130 million products annually and supplies major UK and international retailers including M&S, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, and Morrisons. Its core product portfolio includes Celebration Cakes, Mini Bites, Whole Cakes, Loaf Cakes, Sponge Rolls, Slab Cakes, Treat Bars, Gluten Free products, Desserts, and Christmas seasonal items. The company is particularly known for producing the M&S Colin the Caterpillar cake range (including a newer gluten-free variant), and operates with a 'factory within a factory' facility for specialized production lines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Colin the Caterpillar: A popular celebration cake range produced by Park Cakes exclusively for M&S, including the original chocolate caterpillar cake and the gluten-free variant launched in February 2026.

Products and services

• Celebration Cakes A wide range of celebration cakes produced for occasions including birthdays, congratulations, and Christmas, supplied to major UK and international retailers.
• Mini Bites Premium indulgent snack cakes designed for sharing, supplied as a private-label product range to retail partners.
• Whole Cake Layered, filled and iced everyday cakes produced for retail partners.
• Loaf Cake Traditional cakes filled or drizzled with flavour, supplied as a retail product range.
• Sponge Roll High-quality sponge rolls combining sponge, filling and flavour into a single rolled format.
• Slab Cake Plain, iced, filled or fruited simple cakes supplied in slab format to retail partners.
• Treat Bars A wide range of snack bars, both healthy and indulgent, supplied to retail partners.
• Gluten-Free Range Dedicated gluten-free bakery producing a wide variety of products for the Free From market, manufactured in a dedicated 'factory within a factory' facility to prevent cross-contamination.
• Desserts Hot dessert range including sponge puddings, pies, tarts, crumbles and cream cakes supplied to retail partners.
• Christmas Range Seasonal Christmas product range including traditional fruit recipes, iced, uniced and novelty cakes, Yule Logs, party food and centrepieces supplied to retail partners.
• Colin the Caterpillar Cake (Gluten-Free) Gluten-free version of the iconic caterpillar-shaped chocolate cake with a face, produced exclusively for M&S at Park Cakes' dedicated gluten-free facility.

Quantifiable outcome

• M&S gluten-free Colin the Caterpillar sold over 10,000 units in first five days across 400+ UK stores
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and international.

• M&S (Marks & Spencer)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2026M&S and Park Cakes co-developed a gluten-free version of the Colin the Caterpillar cake, with Park Cakes investing £1.5m alongside M&S to create a dedicated gluten-free production line within its 'factory within a factory' facility. The launch builds on an 80-year partnership, with M&S accounting for 85% of Park Cakes' Oldham site output. Initial sales exceeded 10,000 units in first five days across 400+ UK stores, with M&S expecting to sell over 150,000 units annually.
• Sainsbury'scoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLongstanding supply partnership with UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's.
• TescocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLongstanding supply partnership with UK supermarket chain Tesco.
• AldicoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSupply partnership with UK discount supermarket chain Aldi.
• LidlcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSupply partnership with UK discount supermarket chain Lidl.
• MorrisonscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLongstanding supply partnership with UK supermarket chain Morrisons.
• ColesinternationalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational supply partnership with Australian retailer Coles.
• LoblawinternationalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational supply partnership with Canadian retailer Loblaw.
• MetrointernationalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational supply partnership with Canadian retailer Metro.
• SpinneysinternationalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational supply partnership with Middle East retailer Spinneys.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Premier Foods: Premier Foods is a major UK branded food manufacturer with leading cake brands including Mr Kipling, Cadbury cakes, and Ambrosia desserts. It is comparable as a large UK cake and dessert producer, though it operates primarily through branded retail products rather than the pure B2B private-label model Park Cakes runs.
• Aryzta: Aryzta is a global B2B bakery business supplying frozen and fresh bakery products to retail and foodservice customers across multiple geographies. It is comparable as a large-scale commercial bakery peer though its product mix skews more toward breads and frozen baked goods than Park Cakes' cake specialty.
• Greencore Group: Greencore is the UK's largest manufacturer of convenience foods, supplying major retailers with chilled and ambient prepared foods including desserts and cakes. It is a broader incumbent serving overlapping retail customers with adjacent rather than directly substitutable product categories.
• Pladis (McVitie's): Pladis, owner of McVitie's and Jacob's, is one of the UK's largest biscuit and cake manufacturers. While biscuit-led, Pladis also produces cakes and supplies UK retailers at scale, making it a broad incumbent competitor for retailer cake category shelf space and B2B cake manufacturing.
• United Biscuits (Yildiz Holding): United Biscuits, owned by Yildiz Holding, produces McVitie's cakes and other baked goods in the UK. It is comparable as a major UK cake and bakery manufacturer with overlapping retailer customers, though its portfolio is biscuit-led and broader in scope than Park Cakes' cake specialty.

Direct peers

• Bells of Lazonby: Bells of Lazonby is a UK cake and dessert manufacturer producing premium traybakes, celebration cakes, and hot desserts for major retailers. It is directly comparable as a UK specialist cake manufacturer serving grocery customers with similar product formats.
• Finsbury Food Group: Finsbury Food Group is one of the UK's largest specialist cake and bread manufacturers, supplying private-label and branded bakery products to major UK grocers. It is the closest direct peer given its analogous B2B manufacturing model, UK retailer customer base, and product mix spanning celebration cakes, ambient cakes, and desserts.
• Ashers Bakery: Ashers Bakery is a Northern Ireland-based commercial bakery producing celebration cakes, desserts, and bread for UK and Irish retailers including Tesco and Musgrave. It is comparable as a UK cake manufacturer serving major grocery customers, though at a smaller scale than Park Cakes.
• Real Good Food Company: Real Good Food Company is a UK-based food group with divisions in cake decoration (Renshaw), bakery ingredients, and premium desserts. It is comparable to Park Cakes as a UK specialist in cake-adjacent manufacturing, though its focus on ingredients and decoration rather than finished cakes makes it a partial overlap.

Regional players

• Délifrance: Délifrance is a French-headquartered B2B bakery manufacturer producing viennoiserie, patisserie, and sweet bakery products for retail and foodservice across Europe and Asia. Comparable in B2B sweet bakery manufacturing model and customer types, but operates primarily in continental Europe rather than competing directly in Park Cakes' UK stronghold.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/park-cake-bakeries

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Park Cakes