The Gardenia Brand

The brand Gardenia is associated with qualities such

as good taste, freshness, trust and reliability. In a
highly competitive market, these are the values that
make Gardenia stand out and stay ahead.
The secret to Gardenia's success lies in its traditional
American recipe that has been tried for generations.
Over time, further improvements have been made to
the range of recipes and the method of processing,
especially in the area of automation. All these ensure
that the aroma, taste and keeping qualities of the
bread are consistently being maintained.
History & Milestones
1978
Gardenia first started as a small in-store
bakery at Bukit Timah Plaza producing
variety bread, with the help of experienced
American baker, Horatio 'Sye' Slocumm,
who had 35 years experience in the bakery
business.
1981

Production was growing rapidly and plans

were underway for a larger commercial
bakery.

1983
A commercial bakery was finally started in
March 1983 at Pandan Loop, producing
2000 loaves per hour.
Originally based on the concept of a central
bakery supplying a variety of products
mainly to retail bakeries, this changed to a
single-minded concentration on producing
a white sandwich loaf distributed to all
retail outlets including supermarkets and
sundry shops.
Launched against entrenched competition;
but with a superior product (softer-textured,
tastier-flavoured and enriched bread),
modern distinctive packaging and good
marketing (effective advertising,
merchandising and distribution),Gardenia
bread gradually gained popularity. Its

merits of being baked fresh, using the finest

ingredients and delivered fresh made it the
most popular brand of packaged bread in
Singapore within two years.
1986

In August, Gardenia expanded its

operations by building a modern bakery
that utilized the latest processing
techniques.

1987

Gardenia ventured into Thailand.

1991

The first Gardenia bakery in Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia was commissioned.

1993
A second bakery in Singapore was set up in
June 1993, with a production capacity of
8,000 loaves an hour.
To keep up with a growing demand and
modern baking technology, substantial
funds were ploughed into building this new
state-of-the-art bakery. Costing S$18.5
million, this new Gardenia bakery in
Singapore increased manufacturing
capacity by 2.5 times without
compromising on quality. Equipped with
new computer-generated equipment, this
highly automated plant ranks among the
most technologically advanced in the
region.
1994

Gardenia commissioned a second bakery in

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

1996

Gardenia expanded with new bakeries in

China and India.

1997
Gardenia further extended its regional
operations to the Philippines.

Gardenia acquired a third bakery in Kuala

Lumpur, Malaysia.
1999

Gardenia invested in a fourth bakery in

Johore Bahru, Malaysia.

2001
Gardenia acquired Bonjour. It has since
become the No. 2 brand in Singapore for
packaged loaf bread after Gardenia.
Gardenia set up a fifth bakery in Bukit
Kemuning, Malaysia.
2002
Presen
t

Gardenia built a new bakery in the

Philippines.
Despite a competitive environment,
Gardenia has remained the market leader
till today. This speaks volumes for the
many painstaking efforts that have been
invested to ensure that its products are
constantly a cut above the rest.