Introduction
Kerrs Bakery, part of the McGhee’s Group, produces speciality tray bakes including products such as Millionaire Shortbread.
As production volumes increased, off-cuts, mis-shapes and damaged products were being directed into general waste streams despite remaining suitable for food reuse.
At the same time, increasing operational scale and growing pressure to reduce food waste created the need for a more effective long-term solution.
The Challenge
The business wanted to move away from disposing of edible bakery material as waste while maintaining food safety, operational efficiency and product quality.
The opportunity was to identify whether these bakery co-products could remain within the food chain through a safe and commercially viable reuse route.
The challenge was not the quality of the material, but creating a practical system to recover and repurpose it effectively.
The ZRO Approach
Following an introduction from Mobius, the ZRO Group team worked closely with the site to assess the material and identify a food-safe reuse solution.
It was identified that tray bake off-cuts, including Millionaire Shortbread, could be repurposed as ingredients within the Choc Nibbles product range.
A tailored operational process was then developed to safely capture and segregate suitable material directly onsite.This included:
• controlled collection of off-cuts and mis-shapes
• use of food-grade liners and boxed containment
• standardised handling procedures
• safe transfer into secondary food production
The result was a practical reuse system that retained the value of the material by keeping it within the food chain.
Implementation
Working closely with the bakery team, ZRO developed a food-safe collection and handling process that enabled suitable off-cuts and mis-shapes to be separated directly onsite for reuse.
This included:
• onsite assessment of production flows
• identification of suitable reusable material
• introduction of food-grade collection methods
• safe transfer into secondary food production
• ongoing tracking through internal reporting systems
The result was a straightforward operational solution that kept more edible product within the food chain.
The Results
In the 12 months to 31 December 2025, the initiative prevented:
20,805kg of bakery product from going to waste
By redirecting tray bake off-cuts into secondary food production, the business retained more value from existing output while significantly reducing disposal volumes.
The outcome
Food remained food.
What was previously treated as waste became a usable ingredient within a new product range, extending the life of the material and retaining more value within the food system.
When food stays food, value stays higher.
This project was delivered prior to the transition of Sweetdreams Ltd to ZRO Group Ltd in June 2026.
