A £45k Brownie Boost

thomas lane
Sep 2
2 min read

How we helped a supermarket supplier streamline production and axe waste

The Challenge

A leading supplier to major supermarkets was facing significant operational challenges and financial losses in their brownie production line, which produced one million units per month.

The supplier's established process for producing 1,000,000brownies per month relied on rigid steel tooling. While a commonindustry practice, this method created several costly problems:

Product Damage & Waste: The brownies frequently stuck tothe metal, seizing in the cavities and requiring manualtrimming. This led to an 8% scrap rate, equating to 80,000 wasted units and a financial loss of £40,000 every month.
Intensive Labor: Operators were spending a collective 1,667 hours per month just on manually cutting the brownies and cleaning the cumbersome steel pans. This not only drove up labor costs but also created a production bottleneck.
Inconsistent Output: The unpredictable yields and stop-start nature of the line made it difficult to meet tight cost-control pressures from supermarket buyers.

Our Solution

TCI Culinary introduced a simple yet highly effective solution: replacing the steel pans with food-grade, high-flex silicone moulds. The new moulds were designed to integrate seamlessly with the supplier's existing depositor and conveyor systems, requiring no major capital investment in new machinery.

The impact was immediate. The flexible, non-stick nature of the silicone meant that brownies popped free perfectly every time. This eliminated jamming, the need for manual trimming, and turned a disjointed, stop-start line into a smooth, continuous flow. The rapid clean-in-place (CIP) system further enhanced efficiency.

The Bottom Line

Total Savings: ~£45,000

By identifying the core inefficiency in the production line and implementing a targeted, high-impact solution, TCI Culinary enabled the supermarket supplier to achieve remarkable results. The transition to silicone moulds not only solved the immediate problems of product waste and high labor costs but also fundamentally improved the entire production workflow. This partnership demonstrates how innovative tooling can unlock significant financial gains, leading to a total monthly saving of £45,000 and a more profitable, streamlined operation.