Honeyrose News
We hope to bring you interesting news about Honeyrose Bakery, both big and small (to us), as well as information on events and issues that we think you should hear about. Scroll down as we add new items:
Biography of Founder and Managing Director Lise Madsen
Lise Madsen goes over how her passion for organic cakes developed and how she went about starting her own business, Honeyrose Bakery Ltd. Click here to download the article .
Lise Madsen as Baker of the Week in British Baker magazine, June 8, 2007
Read the Baker of the Week article in "British Baker" on how Honeyrose started and our new range of gluten, wheat and dairy-free products. Also has Lise's views on the benefits of handbaking.
Honeyrose launches Gluten, Wheat or Dairy Free Products
Little did we know how much demand there would be, and we are glad we are able to now offer over 18 different Gluten, Wheat, or Dairy Free organic treats. Click here to buy . For further info on food allergies, please visit Coeliac UK or Foods Matter.
Honeyrose receives Green Mark Award for Environmental Practices
Honeyrose has been awarded Green Mark in 2006 and again 2007, by the London Environment Centre in recognition of having put into effect environmentally friendly business practices throughout our operations.
The Sunday Times: "Official - Organic is Really Better"
No we didn't pay to get this into the paper...we're not that powerful...yet..muuuhahaHA ! Seriously, it did our heart good to see front page , as it will do your heart good to eat organic, ours or not. Article here
Honeyrose starts selling online to consumers - directly from us to you
It took us a while, but after so many of our customers sending us delightful "where can I get more ?!" emails, we thought we'd answer "why...from us !". Click here to visit the shop
Honeyrose founds own charity: Yellow Flower Foundation
We are honoured to put a new meaning to the second part of our motto "We taste good, we do good" by starting our own charitable foundation. Please go to Yellow Flower Foundation to learn more.
Honeyrose now available in Waitrose
As of June 2007, Honeyrose organic handbaked products are proudly available for purchase at selected Waitrose locations in London, including the glamorous new Oxford Street Foodhall at John Lewis.
Honeyrose featured in London's Evening Standard magazine
"What do people in your life really want for Christmas ?". Well, the Evening Standard magazine (November 30, 2007) thinks it should certainly be Honeyrose organic cakes "...total luxury...inspired presents". Agreed !
Honeyrose launches international growth
Honeyrose started in Nov07 to make deliveries throughout Europe for our trade customers either ambient or frozen depending on the customer's preference. For example, here's a happy customer in Madrid, Spain.
Taste Honeyrose at Oxford Street (London) FoodHall from Waitrose on Jan 16, '08
The folks at Waitrose were nice enough to prepare this poster and place them in their amazing FoodHall on Oxford Street. You should go check it out, and stop by to say hello to us, 11am-2pm on Wed, Jan 16th.
Honeyrose to use only biodegradable packaging - industry-leading position
Honeyrose will use biodegradable packaging only in it's Honeyrose brand organic handbaked products as of January 2008. We proudly will be at least 6 years ahead of the industry norm..."we taste good we do good"
Honeyrose attended organic trade fair BioFach 2008 Nuremburg, Feb 21-24, 2008
We attended BioFach in Nuremburg, Germany on Feb 21-24 2008. A busy and very interesting trade fair focused on high quality organic products.
Honeyrose cakes win awards - including the Gold Great Taste Award
Honeyrose cakes have won numerous awards and we're so proud of that we are mentioning it here too, as iit takes handbaking craft and passion to win the Great Taste Gold Award for our Oat & Raisin Cookie.
Honeyrose featured on the cover of British Baker on February 22, 2008 !
We have been proudly featured in "British Baker" the premiere trade magazine for the UK baking industry, appearing both on the cover and in a feature article called "Honeyrose hits organic seam".
Quest for the Best Chocolate Brownie leads to Honeyrose Fudge Brownie
Well, we will just blushingly have to quote the Quest for the Best Chocolate Brownie blog: "The Honeyrose Organic Handbaking fudge brownie is quite simply delicious and I'd say with confidence it is the best shop bought, packaged brownie I've ever tasted. Heavenly.". We would like add that, compared to all the others reviewied, we are also organic, to boot. Let the church saaaaay Amen ! :-)
Chelsea Football Club players score goal with Honeyrose
Honeyrose currently supplies Chelsea Football Club at various locations. We supply the training ground in Stoke D'Abernon in Surrey, as the medical team have requested our organic bars to aid players with maintaining energy levels. Our pecan and maple syrup flapjack is their favourite.
"Free-from fervour" article with Honeyrose MD comments in British Baker
Not mincing words, Honeyrose MD Lise Madsen comments in the "Free-from fervour" article in British Baker (April 4, 2008) that "many gluten-free products taste pretty awful...". Thank God ours don't, we've cracked the code for making fresh, organic, and great tasting gluten-free (and wheat, dairy-free too) cakes.
Honeyrose exhibited at Natural & Organic Products Europe 2008, April 13-14, 2008
Honeyrose exhibited at stand no. 2316 at the "Natural & Organic Products Europe 2008" tradeshow that took place at Olympia, in London, on April 13-14, 2008. Thanks for those of you that stopped by to say hello.
We loved the look of our stand, having our gluten-free Walnut Brownie showcased, and seeing our cakes being sold at main cafe at Natural Organic Products Europe 2008.
Waitrose has selected Honeyrose for a national rollout across 110 branches
Honeyrose is very proud to announce that Waitrose has chosen a special selection of our organic cakes to be available in 110 Waitrose branches across the UK as of April 21, 2008. You can read the Waitrose press release here. Proof that dreams do come true.
Honeyrose article in RealBusiness featuring Lise Madsen April 14, 2008
Lise has a chat with "RealBusiness" about Honeyrose past and future, have a read. We love the picture; we think she's laughing because it took two of us to hold up the flimsy logo board behind her.
New bespoke bakery coming soon - Honeyrose steps up
What is 400% larger than our current facility, all ours, shiny, new, modern, clean, high spec, BRC and EFSIS food grade, beautiful, next to a canal with geese, swans, ducks and fish, trees and grass ? Gosh, you are smart, you guessed it, our new bakery (artist's impression), coming Summer 2008. More news soon !
Ocado launches with Honeyrose organic cakes across the UK
Honeyrose is proud to announce Ocado is now stocking our lovely organic cakes. Ocado is a unique and independent online grocer wholly focused on the home delivery of high-quality food, drink and household goods. Read the Ocado press release.
BBC Radio reviews Honeyrose - listen to the clip !
We were surprised and delighted to hear ourselves being reviewed on BBC Radio's "The Robert Elms show" on April 18. You should hear the 4 minute audio clip, as we do, at least once a day :-)
The 2008 RHS Chelsea Flower Show - growing a beautiful Honeyrose
If you are one of the lucky 157,000 visitors to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show to wander over 11 acres of gardens and plants from May 14-24 this year, you will be able to have our Honeyrose organic cakes, served exclusively at the show for the past 3 years. The Chelsea Flower Show was first held in 1862, and it is in it's 85th year at the current location, which her majesty the Queen opens each year.
Parents - make sure your kids at least eat organic
Maybe you don't believe eating organic is right for you...fine. But give the benefit of the doubt to your kids nutrition. If you don't believe us, listen to major newspapers like this front page, or this one. More on that article here . No E numbers, no additives, nothing artificial, all organic - Honeyrose organic handbaking.
"Soon to be on sale all over the UK", Honeyrose in the Harrow Observer newspaper
Our local newspaper, the Harrow Observer took some time to chat with Lise to understand from her where our high growth is coming from and where it is taking us; nice pic too ! Read it here.
Honeyrose featured in Business XL article on "Breaking into Supermarkets"
Lise's honest assessment on what supermarkets we will and will not trade with for all sorts of reasons, mostly ethical, are discussed in this article in the April 2008 issue on "Breaking into Supermarkets"
Honeyrose featured in April insert to The Grocer by the Park Royal Partnership
Honeyrose Bakery is based in "The Capital's Kitchen", the Park Royal area which is just north of Shepherd's Bush, minutes away from central London and a vibrant place for a business location.
Honeyrose article on BioFach 2008 visit in British Baker
The Honeyrose Bakery team that went to visit BioFach 2008 in Nuremberg recounts what they saw and felt in the May 2, 2008 issue of British Baker, giving you "The facts on BioFach"
Honeyrose feature article in The Sunday Times - Wow !
Our founder and MD, Lise Madsen goes over what it was like to start Honeyrose, what worked and what did not, for the "How I Made It" weekly column, featured in "The Sunday Times" business section on May 25, 2006, in an article titled "Baker knows how the cookie crumbles". Or for the original version which appeared in the newspaper, click here.
Honeyrose organic handbaking proudly at Harrods
The world famous Harrods whose reputation for excellence has made it the premiere shopping destination second to none....has selected Honeyrose for it's Food Hall at it's flagship Knightsbridge store. They will showcase the most extensive line available in London of Honeyrose organic cakes. So now you can buy a Honeyrose cake and it will come in a pretty green Harrods bag - perfect.
Honeyrose Organic Carrot Cake makes magazine cover
We are proud when our founder makes the cover of a magazine, but just as proud when one of our founding cakes makes the cover of a magazine ! See our lovely wheat-free Organic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese icing on the cover (bottom right) of Food Matters magazine in June 2008.
Honeyrose organic handbaked cakes - no to trans fat
We thought the article on the potential damage hydrogenated vegetable oil, or trans fat, does was brought home by this article. Heart disease in Danes dropped 40% in the 5 years since Denmark banned it. No Trans Fats in Honeyrose organic cakes, never was, never will be. What's in the cakes you eat....? Scary pictures and title in scanned article.
Honeyrose Bakery noted as"Smart Business for the Next Decade"
Honeyrose has been highlighted as a "smart business for the next decade" in the cover story feature of Park Royal magazine. Read about why they think we are leading the trends defining the next decade in the Park Royal magazine June 2008
Honeyrose organic handbaking sold in Amsterdam vending machines
Vending machines finally catch up with the rest of the consumer world, no longer just full of chemical and preservative filled caloric processed foods. Thanks to dept:store's new vending machines , you can get fresh, organic, tasty Honeyrose cakes...but for now, you have to go to Amsterdam for the experience.
Honeyrose: A UK Top Organic Brand per The Grocer magazine
Honeyrose has been highlighted as a top organic brand by the UK food industry's main trade magazine, "The Grocer" in their "Focus on Organic" feature on June 14, 2008. We say: Wow, wow, and wowee :-) !
Honeyrose featured in Country Kitchen magazine August 2008
Learn a bit more about Honeyrose, and what we are passionate about - cakes that are sinfully good. Try out the recipe we suggest for an Orange Madeira loaf cake. Nice pics too, here's the article.
Honeyrose update in PRP Connections Magazine July 2008
Get some more info on our planned expansion as reported in PRP Connections magazine in July 2008. We are looking forward to moving to our new state-of-the-art, beautiful, organic bakery later this summer.
Honeyrose wins 3 Gold Awards a the Great Taste Awards 2008
We were very pleased to add 3 more Gold Awards in July 2008 to the existing 9 Great Taste Awards we had won in the past. Applause please for our Organic Fudge Brownie, Organic Date & Walnut Bar, and our Organic Chocolate Chip Shortbread.
Honeyrose commended by the Soil Association Organic Food Awards 2008
Our lovely Date & Walnut bar keeps on winning accolades and goes on to win a commendation at the Soil Association Organic Food Awards 2008 and reported in "The TImes" August 30, 2008. Go Datey go ! Honeyrose is once again recognized as a top UK organic producer.
Honeyrose in Waitrose FOOD Illustrated September 2008
Wow, we are so pleased....read about why Waitrose FOOD Illustrated considers us a "Very Important Producer" in their profile on Lise and Honeyrose. That's our lovely new factory behind Lise, a few weeks away from being competed and ready for us. Check out Lise's new groovy haircut.
Honeyrose loves Aston Martin and James Bond loves Honeyrose
And the feeling is mutual. The lovely Aston Martin Owners Club honoured us by putting Lise our MD, a classic Aston Martin DB6 Mark II peeping next to her, and our lovely LPG van on their AM News magazine cover for September 2008. Modestly, we share a passion for handmade, premium, UK quality with Aston Martin. Bakery....Honeyrose Bakery. Dum da da da da da da, dum da da da da da...
Honeyrose wins Finalist Award at Baking Industry Awards 2008
Ok so maybe we are making lemonade when it's raining lemons, but still...we entered the "Bakery Food Manufacturer of the Year" category at the Baking Industry Awards 2008. We were amazed, that out of a field of close to nearly 30 companies entering that category, we made the shortlist. And then were ecstatic to make it further as 1 of 3 finalists. Considering the other 2 finalists were pasty companies at least 5 times our size, we are very happy. Hooray, we won the Finalist Award !
Honeyrose founder Lise Madsen profiled in Healthy & Organic Living magazine
Find out a bit more about our plain spoken founder and Managing Director, Lise Madsen, from her profile in "Healthy & Organic Living" November 2008. If you think she's honest in this interview, try going through a performance review meeting with her :-) Find out what her 5 essential things are too.
Honeyrose visited by 33 international business students
We had moved into our shiny new factory only a few days earlier, with a million details still to work out, but we thought it very important to be able to host, at the request of West London College, a class of 33 Danish business students on an exchange program in London. They got to tour the facility, meet the founder and management team, ask lots of questions, and learn . A summary of the visit and pictures here.
RBS supports Honeyrose Bakery Ltd.
We were lucky to meet a great banker, working at a very nice bank. They understood what it was like to run a rapidly growing company, what our needs and potential were. We don't need to say this - we want to say this, and were glad to do so. And in credit-crunch times like these, it is good to know who your friends are. Read the press release RBS put out on us.
Honeyrose - our Green Initiatives
We have been doing quite a bit at Honeyrose to really try to make a difference in our environmental impact. Even we were impressed when we wrote most of them down. And since we wrote this, in late-September 2008, the list of green initiatives has continued to grow and evolve. Like Mother Nature does :-)
Honeyrose success highlighted in The Grocer, October 25, 2008
We were very proud to be the sole company case study and profile in the "Focus on Cakes & Biscuits" industry summary which The Grocer publishes yearly. This in-depth study looks at the trends, products and companies making an impact in the industry. We especially appreciated the fact that we were recognised for providing both great quality and great value - an unbeatable combination. Read the profile here.
Honeyrose says Vive La France !
For those of you wanting to practice your A-level French, or for our Francophone friends out there, take a look at what France's Snack & Food magazine for Nov-Dec 2008 rates as some of the must-have brands in the UK market. Nous rougissons de fierte. Y ole !
Honeyrose's biodegradable packaging raises interest
A while back we switched all our flow wrapping to biodegradable film. Little old us took a large chunk of a whole factory's production of biodegradable film. It increased our packaging costs by 100%, and we absorbed it (did not pass it on in our pricing). And now you can read more about it in Out Of Home Magazine's November 2008 case study.
Honeyrose wins 2008 Green Business of the Year Award
Heavens to Murgatroyd, little old us has proudly won the Green Business of the Year Award at the 2008 Park Royal Partnership Business Awards ! Park Royal is Europe's largest industrial estate very near the heart of London, and comprises over 2,000 business and 40,000 employees. Press release here and
Organic Food Makes the Male DingDong Bigger
Ok, so now that we have your attention with the silly headline on a serious subject, go to the source and inform yourself on what has been long suspected and now has scientific backing, that a host of common chemicals if feminising males of every class of vertebrate animals as reported in "The Independent" newspaper on Dec. 7, 2008. While on the subject of why organic food is a sensible option, see a headline on every major media today, here grabbed from "The Times" about high dioxin levels in Irish pigs. Hey, we hate know it all preachers too - it's your life, just please make informed choices.
Honeyrose in Sandwich & Snack News
We were chuffed to bits to see that one of our loyal customers, Reynolds Sandwich Bar and Cafe of W1 London had mentioned our good relationship and how we helped them drive their sales with our organic cakes. Hats off to Ben, he has some great, honest points in the article from December 2008.
Honeyrose mourns the passing of mentor and renowned pastry chef Gaston Lenotre
We were saddened to read of the passing of Gaston Lenotre - read his excellent obituary from the FT - in early January 2009. Our founder and MD, Lise, apprenticed under Gaston in Paris in the mid-Eighties, then he selected her to wok on his management team. He was loved by his students, who quaked in their pastry chef hats if he thought they weren't doing as well as he expected. He taught Honeyrose to focus on quality and taste above all. Adieu, M. Lenotre.
Honeyrose "Green & Gluten-Free" as reported in Fine Food Digest, June 2009
Fine Food Digest has a nice little blurb on us mentioning that we only use biodegradable film in all of our pre-packed organic cakes, and that we have a wide range of Free-From cakes that are also organic.
Honeyrose only uses biodegradable film in it's packaging
And just to make it official, here'a press release from the nice folks at National Flexible, that supply us with our biodegradale film. We actually have been using it for a couple of years - life is too short, and even though it costs twice as much as regular (non-biodegradable film) we went ahead, and did not pass on that cost.
Honeyrose launches at Selfrdiges & Co !
We thought it was perfect serendipity that Selfridges, the iconic London premium department store is both celebrating this year it's 100 anniversary - as well as launching multiple Honeyrose lines in it's lovely Foodhall. Please do stop by and check out the store if you haven't ever (or lately) - it has a great vibe. Check us out in the Foodhall, in the bakery and patisserie section.
Honeyrose launches an oganic cake range especially for Kids
This is dear to our hearts as we have wanted to do this for a long time, and we had a lot of fun coming up with ideas that kids would like - well, our kids like them, and we hope yours do to. The range will be on sale July 2009, and here is a preview article on our Kids range. More on the Mini range soon too.
Business Students from india and Denmark visit Honeyrose
Business students from India and Denmark came by Honeyrose this summer, to learn how a small business gets started and grows. The tours were led by MD Lise Madsen; the most interesting part were the Q&A session at the end as the budding entrepreneurs got to drill us on theory versus practice. It was a good time, and hopefully the sharing of experience helped inspire a future go-getter. One group of 10 students came in August from New Delhi, India from the Indian Institute of Marketing and Management . The other group of 23 students came from the International Business College, in Kolding, Denmark.
Honeyrose cakes win two more Gold Awards
We are very proud to have won two more Gold Awards, at the 2009 Great Taste Awards. This makes it a total of 5 Gold Awards and 14 Great Taste Awards over the year -yeehaa ! Here's a little press release from us on the win, as well as our Gold Award winning products on display at the Specialty Fine Food Fair . Our winners this year were our Organic Chocolate Gateau and our Organic Pecan Maple Syrup Flapjack. Hi hip hooray !
Honeyrose acquires Greenwich Cakes Ltd. assets
Taking a big step in our growth, Honeyrose bought the assets of Greenwich Cakes Ltd. it was an opportunity that we could not pass up and even though the economy is in the midst of a recession, our eye is on the future and how to grow. We needed the assets, including production and office equipment to meet
the demand of our current clients, and in preparation for our planned growth in several area. Read more about it in this Sep09 article from British Baker.
Honeyrose awarded BRC Grade A Quality Accreditation
This is a big deal for us, and if you are in the food world as a supplier you will appreciate it even more. Our bakery has been awarded BRC Grade A accreditation. It was simple really - all it took was 3 years of effort and planning as we built a bespoke bakery, designed it to BRC global standards, made sure all our training, systems and processes aligned to BRC global standards, then underwent a detailed 3 day audit. We have the grey hairs to prove it, apart from the lovely accreditation. Well worth it, and all for you, dear customers. More on this in our press release, and in this snippet.
Honeyrose Gluten-Free cakes and brownies launching in Sainsbury's
The smart folks at Sainsbury's decided their gluten-free customers deserved the chance to eat lovely, moist, delicious cakes instead of the, well, reformulated sawdust that was generally passed off as a gluten-free cake. We worked hard to come up with cakes that beat their expectations, and are happy to have given birth to a tasty triplet of gluten-free cakes: Organic Walnut Brownies, Organic Carrot Cake, and Organic Banana Cake, all gluten-free, from Honeyrose, and available at your local Sainsbury's. Eat them up, don't worry, we're baking more as we write this. Our taaa-daaaaa here
