Europe’s food and drink industry is the EU’s largest manufacturing sector, employing over four million people and generating more than €1tn in turnover. For UK producers, it remains the most valuable and stable export destination, but also one of the most operationally complex to enter due to regulatory divergence, fragmented retail structures and post‑Brexit trade friction.
Wholebake, one of the UK’s leading healthy snack bar manufacturers, has developed an end‑to‑end European market entry model designed specifically to help UK brands navigate this complexity. The approach integrates regulatory compliance, packaging adaptation, production, logistics, distribution and in‑market commercial support, giving manufacturers a clear and scalable route into Europe’s vast food manufacturing ecosystem.
Europe’s food manufacturing sector is vast, but every market behaves differently… Our role is to remove the operational friction so brands can focus on building demand and establishing a long‑term presence.
Marcus Hudson, Head of Sales and Brands, Wholebake
Brynmor flapjacks, one of Wholebake’s own brands, demonstrates the impact of this model. With a 30‑year presence in Sweden, Brynmor now sells more than 7.5 million bars annually across the Nordics. Demand continues to grow, and Wholebake is supporting the next phase of expansion into the Baltics, Finland and the wider Nordic region, alongside new partnerships in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Representing how UK food manufacturers can not only maintain but expand its footprint in multiple EU markets.
Marcus Hudson, Head of Sales and Brands, explains that the manufacturing opportunity in Europe is significant but nuanced. “Europe’s food manufacturing sector is vast, but every market behaves differently. Retail structures, consumer expectations and regulatory requirements vary widely. Our role is to remove the operational friction so brands can focus on building demand and establishing a long‑term presence.”
Wholebake’s integrated model offers UK manufacturers a practical route back into Europe’s largest manufacturing economy. For Brynmor, this has delivered consistent year‑on‑year growth and multi‑million‑unit volumes across the Nordics. For UK producers more broadly, it demonstrates that with the right operational partner, Europe remains a high‑value, high‑growth opportunity for manufacturing‑led expansion.
For more stories like this visit our Leadership channel
