Looking for a strong partner?
Sourcing
Sustainable raw materials and packaging
Continental Bakeries orients itself in particular towards close cooperation with our most important suppliers and packaging technologists with extra consideration for sustainability. Our products are full of natural ingredients for which we have the earth to thank. Continental Bakeries wishes to make an active contribution to preserving our world, which is why we endeavour to procure our raw materials for our products whilst respecting man, animals and the environment. We are making more and more progress in this thanks to our suppliers. Discover yourself in which areas Continental Bakeries ensures sustainable purchasing and click on one of the themes below.
Barn eggs
Continental Bakeries wishes to make an active contribution to a better world and this also includes animal welfare. All factories have switched completely to the use of barn eggs and “free-range” are also available if desired. Pure enjoyment with a good feeling!
Palm oil
Palm oil is a very versatile product that is applied in many foods. From a product-technical standpoint, palm oil is very stable in the baking process, colorless, a natural preservative, and applicable in many products. Palm trees are also fast-growing plants requiring much less land compared with other oil crops. We believe in supporting a more regulated palm industry that safeguards workers and surrounding nature in producing countries. Simply banning palm oil is not the solution to its potentially negative ecological or social impacts.
This is why in 2011, we joined the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), who has set up environmental and social criteria that companies must fulfill when producing RSPO-certified palm oil. In 2020, we have reached 93% RSPO certified palm oil procurement and we are committed to sourcing 100% segregated RSPO palm oil by the end of 2023.
To drive more positive impacts in palm oil industry, we also aim to
• Increase the traceability up to mill level
• Ensure our palm oil consumption is free from deforestation, natural habitat conversion, or human rights exploitation
• enforce on-the-ground investment for sustainable palm cultivation in producing countries.
In the past years, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has also been tracking companies’ commitments and actions in favor of sustainable palm oil through Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard. In WWF Palm Oil Buyer Scorecard 2020, Continental Bakeries, with a score of 19.29 out of 24, ranks Top 9 among manufacturers and Top 15 among all 227 assessed companies worldwide. We are proud that WWF recognized us as being “Well on the Path”, and we will keep reporting our progress transparently.
Sustainable cocoa
Chocolate is delightful but it tastes even more delicious when you know that the cocoa is acquired in a sensible manner. We are assured of this by way of UTZ or Fairtrade®certification. ”UTZ Certified” is a quality mark for honest trading in among other things, cocoa and comes from farmers with an eye for man and the environment. They use for example, fewer pesticides and guarantee good working conditions for their workers. Products bearing the “Fairtrade®” logo are acquired in accordance with the norms of this organization that stands for honest trade and are based on a partnership between producers and consumers. All Continental Bakeries factories are UTZ and Fairtrade® certified, which means that you have the choice of using either UTZ or Fairtrade® certified cocoa for your products. All products under the Continental Bakeries label with cocoa use UTZ cocoa and bear the UTZ logo.
Gluten-free
Our two rice cake and corn cake factories in the south of Belgium use only gluten-free grains and seeds such as rice, maize, buckwheat, amaranth and quinoa. This means they are guaranteed 100% gluten-free and therefore suitable for people with gluten intolerance or allergy (celiac disease).
Oat
Oat is a centuries old grain type that is still used in many nutritional products due to its high nutritional value. Continental Bakeries harvests the oats for its products from southern Swedish fields in Västra Götaland, which are known for their high quality. Oat is rich in fibres and proteins and produces a long-term feeling of satisfaction so that it also fits into any lifestyle and even into a diet. Oat fibres are furthermore connected with a better cholesterol value. Many oat flakes are used in most of our products whereby the taste and nutritional value are best retained.
Packaging
Packaging has a multifunctional role in both logistic, commercial but certainly also an environmental-technical view. The right choice for certain packaging can produce many environmental benefits. This starts with the choice of materials: are these environmentally-friendly and are they for example recyclable. We have opted for the use of FSC® certified packaging for all our corrugated cartons. This is also possible for consumer packaging on request. Forest Stewardship Council® or FSC® is an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) set up to stimulate sensible forest management. This takes into account social, economic and ecological factors.
