Still a place for tradition
From a single coffee house to an international brand, oat biscuits have taken Gillebagaren a long way, as Alan Swaby learns.
Homeowners of the world have a lot to thank IKEA for. So too does the Swedish economy in general and the sales figures for Gillebagaren AB in particular, the worldÔÇÖs largest manufacturer of Swedish-style oat biscuits. Tramping around a vast furniture showroom can be a tiring business, often rewarded with the purchase of something from the IKEA food shop. Along with roll mops, one of the most popular purchases is a pack of Gille biscuits. Of course, itÔÇÖs not the only way Gille products are exported, but it has played an important role in raising the awareness of the Western world at large of a peculiarly Swedish product.
In Swedish, gille is an ancient word for a feast or party where rich items such as buttery biscuits and cookies are served with coffee, tea or other drinks. Pastry cook Tord Einarsson was making such traditional confections for sale through the caf├® he ran, but in 1967 he decided to discontinue the caf├® in favor of a bakery in order to produce high-quality products on a larger scale.┬á
The first plant was built in Åsljunga, in the far south of Sweden, not too far from Copenhagen in Denmark. The business was an immediate success, and by the time Einarsson retired 20 years later, the factory was making 2,500 tons of biscuits a year. A second, larger bakery was built in the neighboring town of Örkelljunga. From this base, sales have climbed steadily year on year to the point where current output is 15,000 tons per year. 
In 2006 Gillebagaren had a turnover of SEK 342 million, with approximately two-thirds of sales going to export. In terms of overall ranking, when the total biscuit range is includedÔÇösavouries, sandwich, wafer and the likeÔÇöGillebagaren is the second-largest biscuit baker in Sweden with a 15 per cent market share, but in the traditional Swedish biscuit sector it holds a massive 40 per cent share. Interestingly, both supermarkets and AC Nielsen see the two as completely separate. In shops, Swedish oat flake biscuits are found well away from the biscuit shelves.
ÔÇ£Gille oat biscuits are probably the most inexpensive luxury item on the market,ÔÇØ says managing director Lars Ekstrom. ÔÇ£They contain nothing but good, wholesome ingredients. GilleÔÇÖs biscuits contain some vegetable fat, no trans fat, and shouldn┬┤t be eaten in excess, but the fat is the reason they taste so good.ÔÇØ
Biscuits are essentially flour, sugar, fat and flavouring. But the proportions and the type of fat determine the cost and taste. With the Gille brand, nothing is spared in maintaining the quality of the range. The baking process drives off the water content so no preservatives are necessary, while chemicals and e-numbers are avoided. The basic raw materials of wheat, sugar and eggs are all from Sweden. So too are the oats, with the equivalent of 1,100 football fields of oat cultivation contracted to Gillebagaren. And while biscuit eaters might have a touch of guilt consuming calories, they can at least offset this by thinking of the cholesterol-lowering properties and other healthy ramifications of eating oats.
Additional flavours for the biscuits are all sourced for their quality rather than low price. Chocolate with 59 percent cacao fat is imported from Belgium. Almonds, dried fruits and spices are all carefully sought out. Since 2005, hazelnuts and peanuts have not been used due to the risk of allergies. For more than ten years, milk products have been discontinued. The result is a unique biscuit range, with a special place in Swedish society and increasingly chosen in export markets. At last count, Gille goes to 30 countries around the world, as far away as Japan, Canada and Australia.
Thanks to the profitability of the business, the company has changed hands several times over the intervening 20 years until last year it was acquired by the Dutch firm Continental Bakeries, a bakery group that focuses on toast and snacks, cookies and biscuits, and bread replacement products. Although Continental does have its own brand names, it tends to concentrate on private-label goods for retailers, earning on the order of Ôé¼250 million from its ten factories.
ÔÇ£Gillebagaren was an attractive proposition for Continental,ÔÇØ explains Ekstrom. ÔÇ£There was very little crossover of products, and they saw the potential of taking Gille-branded biscuits to a wider audience. From our point of view, ContinentalÔÇÖs position in the market means that it can open doors for us that were previously closed and give us an opportunity with major supermarket chains in Germany, France and Holland.ÔÇØ
On the factory floor, everything is gradually being automated, with the last great tranche taking place in 2005. Between them, the companyÔÇÖs two plants have a total of twelve production lines running two shifts a day. Baking biscuits is not that taxing. Make the mixture from good-quality ingredients, bake them for five or ten minutes at 200┬░C, and there you are. The distribution of the biscuits, though, is a much more complex arrangement. Gillebagaren designed and built the conveyor system itself. A large proportion of the 450 employees are actually engaged in packaging. Only on the two long run lines is it feasible to use robotics for the packaging.
In terms of scheduling, Gillebagaren likes to run the lines for at least one whole day, or 14 to 15 hours. As such, it deliberately restricts the number of new products introduced each year in order not to fragment the range too small. By the same token, it listens to what the distributors are saying and introduces new flavours from time to time. The latest fad flavour, for example, is cranberry. Keep an eye out for it on your next visit to IKEA.
