Becoming a market leader is simply wee buns to Alastair ...

Alistair Toal works for one of Northern Ireland's oldest family-owned businesses, Graham's Home Bakery in Dromore. When at work, he relishes the challenge of marketing innovative new products and in his spare time he races down mountains on two wheels. Nigel Tilson reports

The post: Sales and marketing manager, Graham's Home Bakery, Dromore, Co Down
The post: Alistair Toal

Alistair Toal works for one of Northern Ireland's oldest family-owned businesses, Graham's Home Bakery in Dromore. When at work, he relishes the challenge of marketing innovative new products and in his spare time he races down mountains on two wheels. Nigel Tilson reports

How did you get into the bakery industry?

I left school straight after my A-Levels and became a trainee manager in a local manufacturing company.

After five years I moved to home accessory firm Bedeck.

Initially I was customer services manager, helping the sales team implement new contracts with the likes of Debenhams and House of Fraser.

I was then promoted and oversaw the building and efficient running of a new national distribution centre, before moving into sales.

I joined Graham's Home Bakery two years ago with a brief to increase market share and profit.

Graham's Home Bakery was established over 50 years ago. Tell us a bit more about the company.

The business was established quite by accident when May Graham baked too many buns for a children's outing to the seaside one day in 1955.

She sold the extra pastries from the window of her confectionery shop in Dromore and soon she was baking more.

Tales of the quality of May's baking created demand for her cakes and breads first in Dromore and then in all corners of Northern Ireland.

With Graham's products appearing on the shelves of outlets all over the country the family realised that the original shop in the centre of Dromore was no longer big enough to cope with the demand.

Eventually the bakery moved to a much bigger facility on the edge of the town - where it remains today.

The Graham family have always kept a close watch on the changing market and constantly work to ensure that they keep one step ahead.

Having successfully supplied the local community with the finest cakes and pastries for over 50 years, the bakery is now very focused on the future.

We stopped bread production last year to concentrate on our speciality - cakes and buns.

What does your job entail on a day to day basis?

The management of our distribution business means an early start most days.

We distribute to customers throughout Northern Ireland and the fleet has grown by 20% in the last two years with plans for additional sales vans in the coming months.

We have a small dedicated sales and customer service team who look after our accounts in Northern Ireland, leaving me to take care of the buyers in both the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland accounts.

We currently supply Superquinn, Dunnes Stores and SuperValu in the south.

During the last six months a lot of my time has been dedicated to developing the traditional Graham's ranges as well as developing two new ranges.

This year we have launched the Pick Me range of fairy cakes, tray bakes and mini muffins.

It is designed to bring a fun approach to the market.

We have also introduced the Big Bun range of filled muffins, which is aimed at the impulse market.

What's the most interesting part of your job?

Developing the new brands has been the most interesting project I have undertaken in my Graham's career to date, from identifying gaps in the market and looking at where we could possibly break the mould of traditional bakery branding, then watching all the pieces come together to become a real success story for the business.

What personal qualities do you need for your job?

As with any job, I feel the most important quality anyone can have is common sense.

In my current role building relationships with buyers is essential, so interpersonal skills are crucial.

Good management skills are essential when you are responsible for a team of sales people and the ability to communicate effectively with the team is critical to the efficiency of the business.

The ability to garner information from the distribution team and then ensure any opportunities are acted upon can have a huge impact on how the business performs.

What do you find most challenging about the role?

The bakery industry is very price sensitive.

With raw material costs on a seemingly constant upward spiral, there is real pressure on all bakeries to maintain profit margins.

As with any industry, the ability to stay ahead of the competition means we are always under pressure to introduce innovative products and packaging.

What do you think the consumer is looking for in a bakery product?

Quality, simple as that. If the customer buys a product that is poor quality then you will never get a repeat sale.

Thankfully, quality is what Graham's is famous for and why the business has grown over the years.

Indulgence is also a key reason why people buy cake.

As a nation, we are more aware than ever before of health issues and eating well, but people still like something to indulge in every now and then.

Consistency is very important to consumers, too. They want the same quality and taste each time they eat our products and we feel that we can achieve that.

What have you got planned for the future?

We have recently appointed a product development manager who will lead the drive to be first to market with innovative new products.

We are also working towards being awarded British Retail Consortium (BRC) grade A accreditation, which is a standard of excellence mark.

We anticipate further growth in the Republic with retailers like Superquinn and Dunnes Stores.

Our close relationship with Musgrave SuperValu-Centra in Northern Ireland means there is potential to supply its stores in the south as well as its outlets in England.

We would also like to have our products listed with the major multiples such as Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I love sport of any description. I played senior rugby for years, but had to retire due to repeated injuries.

My latest fad is downhill mountain biking.

This is not to be confused with cycling as cycling is the boring necessity that you must do to get to the top of the mountain.

My friends and I would use the Mournes for downhilling, although we travel to Scotland and Wales a lot and in June we went to the Alps for some proper downhilling.