According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, an individual’s physiological needs must first be satisfied and fulfilled before anything else. The physiological needs include the following: air, water, food, shelter, sleep, clothing, and reproduction. Having said that, food is necessary for a human being to function properly; food provides the essential nutrients that a body needs in order to have sufficient energy for activity, to grow, to sustain bodily functions, and to keep the immune system strong and healthy.

Filipinos are tied to a vibrant food culture and food staples have become a huge part of their lifestyle. One of the universal favorite, must-have food in a local dining table is bread; in fact, several versions of it have been shared in all corners of the Philippines and even in some parts of the world.

One of the pioneer bread industries in the Philippines is Gardenia. Many people prefer Gardenia not only because of the wide variety of bread available, but also because it provides an individual with a balanced diet, an amazing grain, and is a healthy choice. A single slice of it can provide a balanced diet and this factor is necessary as it is a foundation to having a healthy lifestyle. Moreover, having amazing grain enables one to stay full for longer periods of time. Lastly, bread is a healthy choice as it is convenient, versatile, has rich carbohydrates, contains dietary fiber, and it brings great taste and freshness with every bite.

Gardenia Philippines has been serving the country since 1998 when it first started operations with its state-of-the-art factory in Laguna International Industrial park (LIIP), Biñan, Laguna. During that period, the Gardenia Philippines’ factory was one of the largest and most modern bread manufacturing facilities in the country.

Long be’s main ore Gardenia built an empire in the Philippines, it had already established a name for itself in Singapore, where it first originated in 1978. During 1983-1996, the company was already expanding their bakery across countries like Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. It was in 1997 when construction in Laguna started and the operations officially started in 1998. Across the years, Gardenia Philippines have continuously innovated breads and loaves and improved the quality of their products. Depending on factor demands, Gardenia Philippines is able to produce about 6000 loaves of bread in an hour and 850,000 loaves and buns are produced on a daily basis.

Gardenia’s major ingredients are simple: flour, sugar, whey, and milk powder. But they also offer their customers a wide variety of loaves and buns to choose from. One can choose from White Breads, Health Breads, Flavored Breads, Pandesal and Buns, Filled Buns, Pocket Sandwich, Snack Cakes, Toasts, and NeuBake.

Their White Bread line includes the classic Gardenia loaves that Filipinos dig for. Meanwhile, breads that are rich in fiber, made from wheat, composed of raisin and cranberry belong to their category of Health Breads. Gardenia also has Flavored Breads where one can choose from chocolate chip, ube and cheese, strawberry and blueberry, black forest, and butterscotch. The company also sells Pandesal, Buns, Pocket Sandwich, Snack Cakes, and Toasts which can either be classic, whole wheat, cheese, dinner rolls, flavored buns, cream-filled rolls, fun buns, pocket sandwiches, flavored, muffins, butter toasts, and toasties. Aside from their classic white and health breads, Gardenia also introduced NeuBake, which has options similar to that of the former.

Gardenia is not only known for their quality breads, they are also one of the prominent companies in which different schools and universities partner with during field trips or plant tours for all levels – from elementary to college students. The 3rd year chemical engineering students of Batangas State University have enjoyed this privilege during the recently held virtual plant tour of the department last July 22, 2022. The plant tour is open for everyone, providing Gardenia’s consumers with better appreciation and understanding of their products. Gardenia also always claims that their operations are all fully-automated, untouched by human hands. Everyone can certainly make sure that their breads are made with utmost care and safety.

Partnering with different food institutions has also made Gardenia the top distributor of breads in the country. The Gardenia Food Service team ensures that they make quality products that meet the demands of their partner institutions. Their operations run 24 hours a day, six times a week, producing up to 850,000 loaves and buns daily, however market demand still plays a big factor in the number of breads Gardenia produces in a day. Additionally, Gardenia always makes sure that they only deliver fresh breads by using color coded G-locks in their packaging. Production is also very sustainable because rejected breads are still utilized as fish feeds.

Gardenia Philippines is mainly composed of two plants; one is located in Luzon and the other is located in Visayas. The one located in Luzon is situated in Gardenia Centre, Star Avenue, Laguna International Industrial Park (LIIP), Mamplasan, Biñan, Laguna. While the one situated in Visayas is located in Gardenia Lapu-Lapu Centre, M.L. Quezon National Highway, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

Process Flow Diagram

How is your bread made?

Similar to other processes, bread production is composed of multiple steps, twelve to be exact. The processes that fall under bread production are as follows: sponge mixing, fermentation, dough mixing, make-up line, final proofing, oven baking, depanning, cooling, tumbling, slicing, packaging, and dispatch.

First, the ingredients are prepared and stored into huge silos prior to their release to the sponge and dough mixers. In sponge mixing, half of the ingredients are mixed in giant horizontal sponge mixers. Then, the sponge is fermented for several hours in a cold room, enhancing the bread’s aroma, texture and flavor. Once fermentation is done, the sponge heads to the dough mixer wherein the rest of the ingredients are mixed to form the dough.

The next station of the Gardenia bread making process is the make-up line, which is composed of four controlled operations: diving, rounding, intermediate proofing, and molding. In the dividing section, the dough is cut into the required size and weight of the loaf; and since all processes are automated, the pieces are ensured to be accurately scaled and consistent. Then, the dough enters the rounder and passes through the check weigher. The intermediate proofer allows the dough to rest so it can go to the molding rollers without tearing. In molding, the dough pieces are flatted, rolled into cylindrical shape, sealed, and cut into their final form. They are twisted and placed into baking pans. The final proofing involves moving the dough pieces into a large proof box for temperature and humidity control.

Baking is done in a 30-meter long tunnel oven with an indirect fire system, heated by environmentally friendly liquefied petroleum gas. Using air burst, the bread is loosened from the pan; the gentle suctions automatically lift the bread out of the pan and move the bread into a conveyor heading towards the spiral coolers. Each loaf passes through the tumbling station where all sides are checked by highly trained visual inspectors. After tumbling, the breads are now sliced into equal slices and put into bags, sealed with color coded G-locks with printed batch and traceability number, price, and expiration date. After packaging, the loaves pass through a metal detector to ensure that there are no metal contaminants in the bread. Once the loaves are clear, they are now ready for dispatch.

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