Since 1927, Angel Bakeries, owned and operated by the Angel family, has been a go-to for bread and pastry lovers around the world.
Today, Angel Bakeries is an approved supplier of companies such as McDonald’s and Domino’s, and have expanded their business to countless countries while maintaining their status as the biggest bread manufacturer in Israel.
We spoke with Yaron Angel, the CEO of Angel Bakeries and grandson of the company founder. Yaron spoke on managing Angel Bakeries, the importance of family, Israeli bread and customs, and his aspirations for the future.
目次
The Origin of Angel Bakeries
Before the founding of Angel Bakeries, Yaron’s grandfather was a high school teacher in Jerusalem. A new manager was hired at the school, who brought his family with him. Yaron’s grandfather fell in love with the manager's sister.
“My grandfather said, “I want to marry your sister” to the manager, who said no, my sister is a princess, I will not let her marry a school teacher!”
In an effort to impress the manager and his sister, Yaron’s grandfather then quit his job as a teacher and started working in the trade business, importing resources such as wheat from Australia.
One of his clients was a small bakery in Jerusalem, which due to significant financial problems, gave Yaron’s grandfather the bakery as payment instead of cash in exchange for his supplies. Yaron’s grandfather was sucked into the world of baking and started working full time as a baker. This was the beginning of Angel Bakeries.
Yaron’s grandfather brought all of the family into the business. Despite rapid growth and expansion of the business, he made sure to treat everyone in the company like family, regardless of blood.
A Family of Breads
“Our logo and motto say “A family of breads”. We value family and want our employees to feel like they are a part of our family.”
Yaron emphasized.
“There is a stigma around family members working together. However, we encourage our employees to bring their family members in. There are many different families in Angels Bakeries and we are proud to have so many generations of the same heritage in our company.”
“You never want to hear complaints about something with your name on it,” he says.
With the name “Angel Bakeries” also comes the responsibility. Yaron has his last name on every product and he is detailed in making sure that his heritage is represented in a positive way.
“The most important thing for us is that our customers, suppliers, and employees are as happy as possible.”
Angel Bakeries has been around for so long that they have become a part of Israeli’s cultural family. Angel Bakeries creates fresh bread daily for its customers and has done so for so long that they are now an instrumental part of Israeli culture.
Challa, for example, is a bread in Israel traditionally only consumed on the weekends. Authentic challa is made by hand and Angel Bakeries honors this tradition by bringing in temporary workers on the weekend to meet the demand. By doing this, Angel Bakeries, is now an instrumental part of keeping traditions in Israel alive.
Growing internationally and the responsibilities of being an approved supplier of Mcdonald’s and Domino’s
As the primary bakery of Israel, Angel Bakeries has exported their products to other countries, in hopes to spread the delicious, traditional breads of Israel to other countries around the world.
“Other countries already have amazing breads, we are not trying to compete with the existing bread.”
Yaron wanted instead to introduce the traditional bread of Israel, pita, to other countries. With another bread manufacturing building in New Jersey, the introduction of pita bread is already in movement. Angel Bakeries also sell their products to other countries such as Denmark, Holland, Australia, Singapore, and Japan.
In Japan, Angel Bakeries has teamed up with a local Japanese company: The Falafel Brothers, who import and distribute their products to Costco and to many other Japanese restaurants and hotels all across Japan.
Angel Bakeries is also an approved supplier for McDonald’s and Domino’s. This means that if you go to Mcdonald’s or Domino’s in Israel, you can taste the Angel Bakeries’ breads in their products. Globally, Angel Bakeries has partnerships with a diverse range of restaurants, you may have even tried their pitas without even knowing.
Aspirations for the coming generations of Angel
When asked about his aspirations for the future, Yaron lights up with a smile.
“We do not know exactly what the future holds for us with the pandemic, but the core values and work ethic of Angel Bakeries will be sure to keep us on track.”
He encourages anyone reading this article to visit Israel as soon as possible.
“You have to visit Israel, we have pita and so much more to offer, and you would love the places and food we have!”
Angel Bakeries
