Kara Foodservice

Name

Kara Foodservice

Legal name

Fletchers Bakeries Limited

Website

https://karafs.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Bakery Products

NAICS

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

SIC

Bakery Products (2050), Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030)

akta.pro primary industry

Wholesale / Commercial Bakeries (B2B Supply) (THAFAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Frozen Bakery Products Manufacturing (AFAKAAAF), Restaurant & Foodservice Supply Cash-and-Carry (Chef Stores) (CRAHAMAD)

Keywords

• Wholesale bakery products
• Frozen-to-fresh baking
• Foodservice distribution
• Burger bun manufacturer
• Gluten-free bakery

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Bakery Products: Kara generates revenue through selling frozen wholesale bakery products to food wholesalers, caterers, and directly to end-users in the foodservice industry. Products include buns, breads, doughballs, doughnuts, muffins, and scones across savoury and sweet categories.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Kara Foodservice manufactures and supplies a broad range of wholesale bakery products — including burger buns, artisan breads and baguettes, doughballs, sliced bread, muffins, doughnuts, scones and gluten-free and vegan lines — to UK and international foodservice operators. Products are supplied in a frozen-to-fresh format, allowing customers to bake them off on demand for freshly prepared servings.

Product overview

Kara Foodservice is a wholesale bakery supplier operating as part of Fletchers Bakeries Limited, owned by Finsbury Food Group. The company offers a diverse portfolio of over 200 frozen-to-fresh bakery products for the UK foodservice industry. The product range includes savoury selections (burger buns, artisan breads, baguettes, doughballs, morning goods, vegan brioche) and sweet selections (doughnuts, muffins, scones). Kara distributes specialty brands including Fletchers Sliced Bread, Genius Gluten Free, and Lees of Scotland. The company supplies to education (primary and secondary schools), care homes, hospitality venues, and quick serve restaurants. Products are distributed through a network of over 200 food wholesalers across the UK and Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Genius Gluten Free: Gluten-free bread range distributed by Kara for cafés and restaurants.
• Fletchers Sliced Bread
• Lees of Scotland

Products and services

• Burger Buns range A foodservice pack format range of burger buns including white and brioche options, supplied frozen-to-fresh for bakery and hospitality operators in the UK and Ireland.
• Gourmet Slider Bun

Quantifiable outcome

• Frozen-to-fresh model reduces food waste compared to daily deliveries
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BidfoodcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor foodservice distributor operating nationally across the UK, stocking Kara's wholesale bakery products.
• BrakescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLeading foodservice supplier in the UK, distributing Kara bakery products to hospitality and catering businesses.
• CaterforcecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional foodservice buying group, providing access to independent caterers across the UK.
• Country RangecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWholesale catering supplier serving the UK hospitality sector with branded and own-label products.
• SterlingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFoodservice distributor providing wholesale bakery products to caterers across the UK.
• CaterfoodminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional foodservice distributor serving catering businesses in specific UK areas.
• UnitasminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWholesale catering supplier operating across the UK.
• The Wholesale GroupminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIndependent wholesaler group serving the UK catering market.
• Finsbury Food GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company (Fletchers Limited PLC) of Kara Foodservice. Finsbury Food Group is a company registered in England and Wales, providing group capabilities and shared resources including Genius Gluten Free brand and Fletchers Bakeries.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Délifrance: European frozen bakery and viennoiserie supplier serving hotels, restaurants, cafés and caterers across multiple countries. Operates a similar frozen-to-oven bake-off model to Kara with comparable customer segments (hospitality, QSR, education) and product categories (buns, breads, viennoiserie).
• Bridor: French premium frozen bakery and viennoiserie manufacturer (part of Nestlé Professional) supplying UK and European foodservice operators with croissants, breads, and buns. Direct competitor on frozen-to-fresh technology, premium bakery positioning, and UK foodservice customer overlap.
• La Lorraine Bakery Group: Belgian bakery group producing frozen and fresh bread, buns, and patisserie for European foodservice and retail. Comparable to Kara through frozen bakery manufacturing, foodservice channel focus, multi-country distribution, and broad bun/bread portfolio.
• Country Style Foods: UK foodservice-focused bakery manufacturer producing frozen and part-baked breads, burger buns and morning goods for UK caterers and wholesalers. The closest direct competitor to Kara given overlapping UK foodservice channel, frozen bakery technology, and buns/breads/morning goods product mix.
• Warburtons Foodservice: Foodservice division of the UK's largest branded bread baker, supplying sliced bread, burger buns and bakery products to UK caterers, hospitality and QSR. Competes with Kara directly on UK foodservice bakery with overlapping customer base in hospitality, QSR, and education.

Others

• Puratos Group: Global bakery, patisserie, and chocolate ingredient and finished-goods supplier to artisan and foodservice bakers. Related to Kara through foodservice bakery customer overlap (education, hospitality, QSR) and bakery product portfolio, but primarily positioned as ingredient/finished-goods supplier rather than Kara's frozen-to-fresh finished-product model.

Broad incumbents

• Aryzta: Global bakery platform serving foodservice and retail with frozen and par-baked breads, buns, and snacks across Europe and North America. Overlaps with Kara on frozen bakery technology, foodservice channel, and bun/bread categories but at significantly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Vandemoortele: Belgian food group producing frozen bakery (breads, viennoiserie, patisserie) and margarines for European foodservice and retail. Comparable to Kara through frozen bakery manufacturing, B2B foodservice channel, and pan-European distribution.
• Hovis (foodservice): Major UK bread brand with foodservice and bakery solution offerings including burger buns, artisan breads and morning goods. Competitor to Kara in UK foodservice bakery for hospitality, QSR and education channels, though broader retail brand focus.

Emerging players

• British Bakels: UK supplier of bakery ingredients, mixes, and finished baked products to foodservice and craft bakeries. Adjacent to Kara through foodservice bakery channel and product mix (buns, breads, patisserie components), though positioned more upstream as ingredient supplier rather than finished-frozen producer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/karafsbakery
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/karafsbakery

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Kara Foodservice