Dessert First
Dessert First is an Irish artisanal bakery in Waterford that produces traditional thaw-and-serve and bake-from-frozen baked goods for food service customers and pre-packed retail products sold through SuperValu stockists in southeast Ireland.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersWaterford, Ireland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Dessert First does
Dessert First Ltd. is an Irish artisanal bakery founded in 2010 by Margaret Fleming, operating from a purpose-built production facility at 71 Westside Business Park, Old Kilmeaden Road, on the outskirts of Waterford City. The company manufactures traditional Irish baked goods, including thaw-and-serve traybakes, large and individual quiches, fruit tarts, cupcakes, all-butter scones, ready-to-bake pastry bases and lids, and brown soda bread, using recipes passed down through the founder's family and quality ingredients such as Irish butter and free-range eggs without artificial additives.
The business operates two distinct go-to-market motions. The food service and catering line supplies cafes, restaurants, gastro pubs, and delicatessens with bulk frozen and thaw-and-serve products (for example, 2 kg traybakes sliced into 20 portions, 1.75 kg quiches for 8-10 portions, and 60 x 150 g packs of scones), positioned to address chef and pastry-chef recruitment shortages by removing in-house baking. The retail line sells pre-packed products (Chesterbread, cupcakes, tea-time treats, fruit tarts) through selected stockists, primarily SuperValu stores across Waterford, Wexford, and Kilkenny, plus independents such as Ardkeen Quality Food Stores.
Dessert First is a founder-owned, bootstrapped private limited company with 11-50 employees, no external funding, no disclosed revenue, and geographic operations limited to southeast Ireland. Marketing runs through organic social channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, X), email via MailChimp, and an e-commerce-enabled website. The company sells under the DessertFirst trading name and previously operated as MFC Catering.
Dessert First firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Dessert First
- Legal name
- Dessert First Ltd.
- Website
- https://dessertfirst.ie
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Dessert First is an Irish artisanal bakery in Waterford that produces traditional thaw-and-serve and bake-from-frozen baked goods for food service customers and pre-packed retail products sold through SuperValu stockists in southeast Ireland.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Dessert First industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Commercial Bakery
- NAICS
- Frozen Cakes, Pies, and Other Pastries Manufacturing (311813), Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing (3118)
- SIC
- Bakery Products (2050)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Frozen & Par-Baked Bakery Production (THAFAFAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Frozen Bakery Products Manufacturing (AFAKAAAF)
Keywords
Where Dessert First is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Waterford
- HQ country
- Ireland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Dessert First business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Food Service & Catering Sales: Bulk baked goods sold to cafes, restaurants, gastro pubs, and delicatessens. Products include thaw-and-serve traybakes, tarts, cupcakes, quiches, and ready-to-bake pastries in various portion sizes for professional kitchens.
- Retail Product Sales: Pre-packed retail products sold through selected stockists including SuperValu stores in Waterford, Wexford, and Kilkenny. Products include Chesterbread, cupcakes, tarts, and tea-time treats sold directly to consumers.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Dessert First product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Dessert First manufactures traditional Irish home-style baked goods — traybakes, tarts, cupcakes, quiches, scones, and pastry bases — using quality ingredients such as real Irish butter and fresh free-range eggs. Products are sold in two formats: thaw-and-serve / bake-from-frozen bulk packs for food service and catering customers (cafes, restaurants, gastro pubs, delicatessens), and pre-packed retail items available through selected stockists including SuperValu stores in the South East of Ireland.
Product overview
DessertFirst is a traditional Irish home-style bakery business founded in 2010, operating from Waterford, Ireland. The company offers two main product lines: (1) Food Service & Catering products for cafes, restaurants, gastro pubs, and delicatessens, which includes Thaw & Serve Traybakes, Thaw & Serve Tarts, Thaw & Serve Cupcakes, Thaw & Serve Large and Individual Quiches, Bake From Frozen All Butter Scones, Bake From Frozen Pastry bases/lids, and Bake From Frozen Tarts; and (2) Retail Products sold through SuperValu stockists including Chesterbread, various cupcakes, tea-time treats, and fruit tarts. The company emphasizes traditional home baking recipes using quality ingredients like Irish butter and fresh free-range eggs, with no unrecognisable additives.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Thaw & Serve Traybakes
Companies that use Dessert First
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Dessert First technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Dessert First partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Dessert First competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Délifrance: European bakery brand owned by Grand Food Group, supplying frozen bakery, viennoiserie, and savory products to food service and retail. Comparable through frozen par-baked bakery production and food-service focus.
- Aryzta: Swiss-headquartered but Irish-origin frozen bakery giant supplying food-service and retail customers across Europe. Aryzta is a broad incumbent in the same frozen and par-baked bakery category, operating at a much larger scale than DessertFirst.
- La Lorraine Bakery Group: Belgian frozen and fresh bakery producer serving retail and food service across Europe. Comparable through thaw-and-serve and bake-off product formats and food-service channel focus.
- Bridor: French premium bakery producer (Le Duff Group) specializing in frozen and par-baked breads, viennoiserie, and pastries for food service and retail. Comparable through premium ingredient positioning and bake-from-frozen core capability.
Emerging players
- St Pierre Groupe: UK-based frozen bakery brand focused on brioche, crêpes, and bakery products sold through retail and food service. Comparable through frozen bakery product format and mid-sized brand positioning.
- Signature Flatbreads: UK frozen bakery producer (now part of Bimbo Bakeries) supplying flatbreads, wraps, and thins to food service and retail. Comparable through frozen bakery production for B2B channels.
Regional players
- Avoca: Irish premium food and lifestyle retailer with in-house bakery and dessert ranges sold across multiple locations. Comparable through Irish artisan positioning and premium home-baked dessert offering.
- McCambridges: Long-established Irish specialty food retailer and bakery in Galway selling premium baked goods and desserts. Comparable through Irish artisan heritage and premium dessert positioning, though it operates a retail storefront model.
Direct peers
- Country Choice: Irish bakery products manufacturer supplying branded and own-label baked goods to retailers and food-service operators. Closest like-for-like peer given shared Irish origin, product mix, and dual B2B/retail distribution.
Others
- Foods of Athenry: Irish family-run producer of baked goods, breads, and convenience products distributed through Irish retail and food service. Comparable through Irish-originated, quality-ingredient bakery production for similar channels.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Dessert First social profiles
Digital presenceDessert First financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Dessert First leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Dessert First funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Dessert First M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Dessert First
What does Dessert First do?
Dessert First manufactures traditional Irish home-style baked goods — traybakes, tarts, cupcakes, quiches, scones, and pastry bases — using quality ingredients such as real Irish butter and fresh free-range eggs. Products are sold in two formats: thaw-and-serve / bake-from-frozen bulk packs for food service and catering customers (cafes, restaurants, gastro pubs, delicatessens), and pre-packed retail items available through selected stockists including SuperValu stores in the South East of Ireland.
Is Dessert First a public or private company?
Dessert First is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Dessert First founded?
Dessert First was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Dessert First based?
Dessert First is headquartered in Waterford, Ireland, in the Europe region.
How does Dessert First make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Food Service & Catering Sales are the primary driver. The others are retail Product Sales.
Who are Dessert First's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Délifrance, Aryzta, La Lorraine Bakery Group and Bridor. Emerging players are St Pierre Groupe and Signature Flatbreads. Regional players are Avoca and McCambridges. Country Choice is listed as a direct peer. Foods of Athenry is listed as an others.
Does Dessert First have an API?
No public API is recorded for Dessert First.
What industry is Dessert First in?
Dessert First's product category is Commercial Bakery. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFAFAK, Frozen & Par-Baked Bakery Production, with a secondary code of AFAKAAAF, Frozen Bakery Products Manufacturing. Its NAICS code is 311813 and its SIC code is 2050.