In 1997, QAF Limited established Gardenia Bakeries (Philippines), Inc. through their subsidiary Gardenia International (S) Pte Ltd. Construction of the bakery plant in Binan, Laguna began at this time. Gardenia Bakeries (Philippines), Inc. is a multinational company with operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and other Asian countries. The company’s bread factory in the Laguna International Industrial Park (LIIP) started operations in 1998 and is considered one of the most advanced large-scale bread manufacturing facilities in the Philippines.
Gardenia Philippines has the most advanced baking facility in the country. The facility is equipped with high-quality equipment sourced from top bakery equipment suppliers in Germany, Holland, UK, and USA. This reputable company offers a wide range of bakery products including Enriched Classic White Bread, High Fiber Wheat Bread, High Calcium Milk Bread, Sugar Free 12 Grain Loaf, California Raisin Loaf, Chocolate Chip Loaf, Double Delights Loaf, Carrot Raisin Loaf, Black Forest Loaf, Pan de sal, Whole Wheat Bun, Hotdog and Hamburger buns, Toasts,
Dinner Roll along with appetizing snacks such as Fun Buns,
Twiggies,Cream Roll,and Muffins.
Gardenia has experienced significant growth in its distribution since it was established. Currently, it is recognized as the most widely distributed brand of bread in Metro Manila and extends its distribution to various regions such as Cagayan Valley, Nueva Vizcaya, and Tuguegarao. In the north-western side of Luzon, Gardenia’s distribution network includes Laoag City in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and Abra. Furthermore, Gardenia breads have reached Bacolod City in Negros Province within the Visayas island group.
Founded in 1998, Gardenia has achieved impressive success with constant and rapid sales growth. The brand is renowned for its delicious taste, freshness, enticing aroma, softness, and nutritional value. Notably, Gardenia breads, such as the popular Classic White Bread, are free from cholesterol and bromate. They are also enriched with vitamins and minerals, contain zero trans fats, and surpass the recommendations of the Department of Health (DOH). The product’s slogan, “So good… you can even eat it on its own,” perfectly captures its numerous advantages.
Gardenia Philippines has implemented a distinctive distribution system to maintain the freshness of their bread products. They utilize a special G-lock, made of plastic, to seal the bread packages. This G-lock is positioned at the “neck” of the package and features the “Best Before” date and price. Unlike typical tape seals used by other bakeries, Gardenia’s G-lock can be reused by consumers to reseal the remaining bread and preserve its freshness.
Gardenia abides by its global policy of only stocking fresh items on store shelves. Once products are manufactured, delivery vans depart from the production plant as early as 4 am to distribute them to various supermarkets, groceries, convenience stores, and sari-sari stores. This ensures that unsold bread in store shelves is replaced with freshly baked, high-quality products every day during the delivery process.
Gardenia Philippines has a consumer-oriented vision that emphasizes product quality, bread-making technology, and distribution. This vision allows Gardenia to provide the highest level of satisfaction in the bakery industry. As a premier company in the baking industry, Gardenia manufactures various breads and is committed to delivering superior consumer value through its branded products.
The Gardenia trademark is highly regarded and valued throughout Asia. It has continuously held its ISO 9001:2000 certification for product quality excellence and HACCP certification for food safety since 2003. Additionally, for three years in a row, Gardenia has been recognized as a Superbrand by Superbrands Ltd., an independent authority on branding. This further proves that Gardenia has met the strict requirements of market dominance, longevity, goodwill, customer loyalty, and overall market acceptance.
The company has received several notable awards. These include the Annual National Consumers’ Award (ANCA) for being the outstanding bread manufacturer for four consecutive years (2004-2007), as recognized by the Consumers’ Union of the Philippines. Additionally, they have been awarded the National Consumers Quality (People’s Choice) Awards as the top loaf bread brand, the People’s Brand Awards as the leading loaf bread and pandesal brand manufacturer, and the National Shopper’s Choice Awards as the number one innovative bread brand.
In truth, these serve as evidence that Gardenia is committed to offering superior products to Filipino consumers. The Gardenia Cebu plant is currently operating at full capacity, producing 50,000 loaves daily to meet the demand in Cebu and Northern Mindanao. The company promptly constructed the new plant in response to the numerous requests and demands for Gardenia products in Cebu and neighboring provinces.
Renowned for enhancing the bread production process, Gardenia’s Cebu plant boasts large horizontal mixers from the United States, automated dough divider-rounder and intermediate proofer equipment from the Netherlands, a tunnel oven with a race track bread cooling conveyor from Germany, and an automated slicer and bread bagger from the United States. Gardenia sources only the finest ingredients worldwide to ensure that Cebuanos can enjoy the same high quality and delicious Gardenia loaf breads found in the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia, where the brand is the leading choice.
Gardenia President and General Manager, Simplicio Umali Jr., emphasized the importance of freshness and quality, stating that Gardenia cannot compromise on these aspects. In order to meet the demand in the Visayas market, Gardenia decided to establish a plant in Cebu. The company already operates a plant in Binan, Laguna which has the capacity to produce 650,000 loaves and buns daily. However, shipping products from Laguna to the Visayas and Mindanao markets was not feasible due to the time it would take and the potential compromise on freshness. To address this issue, Gardenia has recently opened a new plant in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu near the Mactan bridge. Umali announced that this plant is now fully operational and will serve the needs of Central Visayas and Mindanao markets. He also assured Cebuanos that they will continue to enjoy fresh and high-quality products, emphasizing that the company adheres to current Good Manufacturing Processes.
The company has achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification for its equipment and baking process. Additionally, it has recently upgraded to ISO 9001:2008 for product quality. Furthermore, the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Certification has been obtained by the company to ensure food safety. Gardenia employs the G-lock system as part of its unique quality control measures, which includes a color-coded resealable clip. This clip provides essential information such as the bread’s “Best Before” date, production plant, production code, and suggested retail price.
The G-lock system utilizes various colors to designate the delivery day, guaranteeing that consumers are aware of when the bread is delivered, not only when it will expire. The assigned colors for each delivery day are as follows: Tan (Monday), Orange (Tuesday), Yellow (Wednesday), Blue (Thursday), Green (Friday), Red (Saturday), and White (Sunday). Umali confirms that this distinct system guarantees that only fresh bread remains on store shelves, with any unsold bread being taken out daily during delivery. Experience delightful bread on your table through the G-lock system.
Cebuanos now have the opportunity to enjoy the delicious “Masarap kahit walang palaman” bread, as the Cebu plant has a production capacity of 2,000 loaves per hour or nearly 50,000 loaves per day. The initial offerings from Gardenia include Classic White Bread, High Fiber Whole Wheat Bread, and various flavored loaves. Gradually, more loaf bread varieties will become available in the market. Gardenia breads possess all the qualities that consumers desire in a good bread: great taste, freshness, the aroma of freshly baked bread, softness, and nutritional value. So consumers can rest assured that Gardenia bread will surely satisfy their cravings.
Currently, Gardenia bread has a wide distribution reach in Luzon. It is the leader in Metro Manila, with a market share of over 65%, according to Nielsen retail data. Gardenia also covers the Western part of Visayas, which includes Mindoro, Panay, and Negros islands, as well as the Eastern part of Visayas, serving Samar and Leyte through the Roll-On Roll-Off (RORO) nautical highway using its fleet of company-owned feeder trucks. Our goal is to expand our coverage and make Gardenia bread easily accessible to all consumers in the country. With the Lapu-Lapu plant, Gardenia is now able to serve the bread requirements of Cebu, Bohol, Cagayan de Oro, Malaybalay, Butuan, Iligan, and Davao. Nestor Constancia, Gardenia’s Marketing and Sales Manager, stated that Gardenia’s unique distribution system will utilize a new fleet of feeder trucks and delivery vans in these cities, which will also create more job opportunities.
The new Lapu-Lapu plant created employment opportunities for residents of the Visayas region and will contribute to the enhancement of the city’s economy. Gardenia recruited over 50 individuals for various roles in production, sales, and administration. These employees were sent to the company’s modern manufacturing facility in Laguna for extensive training, particularly focusing on the latest baking technique, HACCP, and ISO procedures. Umali stated that the company plans to hire more employees and potentially expand further in the future, depending on the success of Gardenia products in Cebu and neighboring provinces.
