For a century Kluman & Balter has been a trusted ingredient wholesaler dedicated to supplying the bakery industry with all their ingredient needs
Founded in 1923, the family business was passed down four generations prior to being acquired by Brenntag in 2017. Our commitment to quality is undisputed, and we are passionate about helping our customers make the everyday extraordinary with our extensive product range. As one of the UK’s largest bakery ingredient suppliers, we know what it takes to bring your ideas to life.
The Kluman family launched Kluman & Balter in Hackney, East London, in 1923.
The business thrived and moved to Holloway and then again to Enfield in 1986 before settling in Waltham Cross in 2003. In 2018 came the multimillion addition of a new warehouse and test bakery facility in a brand new site in Manchester.
Throughout the years there have been several notable achievements from Kluman & Balter.
Around 50 years ago, Geoff Kluman, 3rd generation family was running the company and partnered with a Canadian company to launch the very first American style cake and doughnut mixes into the UK. These were supplied into UK Retailers and Manufactures starting a trend that continues to this day.
In the early 1990’s Kluman & Balter identified an opportunity to replace expensive croissant butter with a vegetable based alternative and the partnership to supply Roleasy was born. This relationship continues to endure with Kluman & Balter still the exclusive agent some 30 years later.
A little known fact was in the late 1990’s Kluman & Balter partnered with Decobake an Irish baker to launch edible ink printers. This allowed personal photos to be transposed onto a birthday cake. Today this innovation can be seen in every supermarket across the UK and beyond.
In 2006 Danny Kluman became the 4th generation of the Kluman family to run the business and in that year Kluman & Balter along with A1 Cakes developed the “hotplate range” for In store bakery at a major UK retailer Asda. This was a category which did not exist at the time and some 20 years later following significant growth it remains one of the most important categories in retail bakery with a range of cakes and pancakes enjoyed by millions of consumers up and down the land.
Another significant change came with the acquisition of A1 Cakes in 2011 which significantly expanded our cake mix capability and allowed the wider business to grow into new markets.
In 2017 the Kluman family decided to sell the business to Brenntag with Danny Kluman stating “Kluman & Balter are delighted to be partnering with a global business that has the infrastructure and resources to take a family-owned, fourth-generation business, which was established in 1923, to the next level,”
“We are equally delighted that the transaction also includes the purchase of A1 Cake Mixes so we can continue to develop our expertise and value-added approach to the sector with the supply of bespoke cake mixes.”