Sara Lee celebrates 50 years on the Central Coast and reveals new products
As Sara Lee turns the big 50, the dessert dynasty reveals what’s coming next out of the factory and its biggest seller. What’s your favourite memory of Sara Lee?
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A new line of croissants and a series of vegan, non dairy and gluten free desserts are set to come out of the Sara Lee factory.
The Lisarow-based company is celebrating its 50th anniversary as they continue to secure their long term future as the dessert giants.
Managing Director Mark Mackaness said the company is moving with times, creating a balance between the old favourites and new products.
“There's a lot of new products with a ‘better for you’ twist,” he told the Express.
“We’re looking more in the specific area of plant based as well as non dairy and gluten free mud cakes and indulgent desserts.
“We have just launched the vegan coconut lime pie and will soon launch the gluten free mud cake and then the vegan cheesecake.
“We are also looking a lot more into ice cream outside the premium category. Ice cream has a bigger role to play in the company in terms of different flavours and formats.”
Mr Mackaness said Sara Lee was also doing “a lot more in pastry”, after spending $30m on upgrading its pastry equipment.
“We are looking at savoury croissants, as well sweeter croissants with choc chip, fruit fills and more dessert pastry,” he said.
He has been in the role for two years and said he always had a soft spot for Sara Lee and its banana cake.
“It’s a brand many of us grew up with. I used to visit the place with my cousins when my nan lived on the coast,” he said.
“It was the brand that drew me in, I have always believed in the potential of the business.
“The quality of the staff is also exceptional.”
He said the company, now owned by McCain Foods, continued to offer the “home baked feel” with its products which has proved a major factor in its success.
“When you think about home baking you think of fresh wholesome ingredients,” he said. “Sara Lee has maintained that for 50 years. When you walk into the factory you see a similar process you go through to bake a cake at home, just on a bigger scale. We don’t use egg powder, we use fresh eggs and fresh cream.
“It’s the natural ingredients and secret recipes that have been successful. To have the brand around today is a testament to those recipes that have not changed. We also have a high degree of adversity in terms of experience and background with pastry chefs, bakers and workshop operators, along with those in research and development.”
The company has also done wonders on a local level with thousands of staff employed at the factory over the past 50 years as well as 90 per cent of the produce sourced locally.
And if you’re wondering what the biggest seller is, it seems the sticky date pudding is continuing to dominate in sales and popularity.
Kym Gurney is one of the long running employees, having worked at Sara Lee for 35 years.
When he moved from the country to the coast, he had heard about the factory and just knocked on the door one day.
“I had never worked in the food industry but started in production then pre scale, then the workshop and I haven’t looked back since,” he said.
“The company has been great for training people and developing skills.”
He said he had seen many changes such as technology upgrades on the production line.
“Previously we hand packed the cakes into the boxes,” he said.
“One of the perks was that they used to bring the products, that weren’t quite right, out for smoko so we never had to bring morning tea. But that changed when new laws came in. I had never tried cheesecake until I came here, but I have always been more into the apple pies.”
50 YEARS OF SARA LEE
It all started with founder Charles Lubin, who names the company after his daughter Sara Lee.
1970 – The first sod was turned in Lisarow for construction of Kitchens of Sara Lee Australia, with products imported from Sara Lee in North America for the first 18 months.
1971 – The official opening of Sara Lee on June 8 with 50 employees. By July, products were being imported to the Middle East, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa.
1978 – The company completes its second expansion and employs 180 people, with 40 products in the range from cheesecakes, danish, fruit pies and Bavarians.
1980 – 360 people employed and producing 50,000 cheesecakes a day. There were five production lines and 126 products. 1980 also saw the launch of Sara Lee ice cream and the lasagne. Sara Lee launched in New Zealand in 1982.
1990 – Quiche was launched in 1993 and Sara Lee became the 7th largest company supplying goods to supermarkets across Australia.
The 90s also saw the introduction of the sticky date pudding.
2000 – Staff numbers grow to 500 with subsidiary companies Mamma Fiorelli and Universal Foods. Eight production lines were producing more than $7.5m cases of products with 754 different products on offer.
2010 – Sara Lee wins 2017 Product of the Year Award for the Incredibly Crunchy Cheesecake range. The Apple Pie recipe was also refreshed and the company had now exported to more than 24 worldwide destinations.
2013 – McCain Foods buy Kitchens of Sara Lee for $82m and the business becomes a leading frozen food company in Australia and New Zealand
2018 – Installation of pastry line and packing equipment to produce croissants and danish.
2020 – The company employs more than 220 staff and starts to roll out vegan friendly and low gluten products. There are now nine manufacturing lines.
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