Case Study #2: Boosting Baking Throughput at Lesley Stowe Fine Foods

The Challenge: Lesley Stowe Fine Foods, the creators of Raincoast Crisps, encountered a significant challenge as they experienced a surge in national sales growth. The company was tasked with enhancing the utilization of their four rack ovens to meet the increasing demand for their crackers.

The Solution: Yokoten was presented with two potential paths to increase the throughput of the baking process. The first option involved modifying the baking racks to accommodate more trays. The second, and ultimately chosen path, focused on optimizing how the crackers were baked by leveraging the existing venting programs in the ovens. This approach aimed at expediting the removal of moisture from the crackers during the baking process.

The Results: Yokoten's deep understanding of technical baking processes led to a remarkable enhancement in production capacity for Lesley Stowe Fine Foods. By reprogramming the ovens to alternate between building up temperature and venting to remove moisture, Yokoten significantly improved the efficiency of the moisture removal from the crackers. This innovative modification to the baking process cut down bake time by 10 minutes for each batch. As a result, the production team was able to increase output from 8 to an impressive 12 bakes per hour. This not only allowed for a reduction in labor costs but also expanded the oven capacity, enabling Lesley Stowe Fine Foods to meet their growing demand more effectively.