Piccadilly Biscuits Limited, a family business founded in Ghana over 60 years ago by Dr. Samir Eid, a third-generation baker, has been a source of quality, wholesome, and nutritious biscuits for generations. The company was founded the very year that Ghana gained independence from British colonial rule.
Cocoa beans, a key ingredient in Piccadilly's chocolate biscuits, are sourced locally in Ghana.
Dr. Eid was born in the Gold Coast in 1932. Piccadilly’s biscuits have been highly sought after for generations because of their quality, wholesomeness and true affordability.
Unlike biscuits that are imported, Piccadilly bakes and delivers oven-fresh biscuits at very affordable prices. Piccadilly Biscuits are affordable and are delivered fresh to all parts of Ghana on the Company’s own transport.
The company is managed by a dedicated and passionate team of people under the guidance of the founder’s children who are now fourth-generation bakers. This modernisation programme is intended to ensure that the company continues in the tradition of offering great, affordable biscuits for many years to come.
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The Core Range and New Innovations
The ubiquitous Coreen biscuit, fondly known as “Hye Me Ma” and by many other local names, has been the mainstay for many hungry students. Additionally, the Digestive, Malt & Milk, and All Time biscuit sachets continue to bring joy to the snacking experience.
Piccadilly offers a range of biscuits, including Digestive, Malt & Milk, and Coreen "Hye Me Ma".
Piccadilly has launched a new Cracker that has already made its mark in the marketplace. Piccadilly is giving these Crackers away with every bag of Coreen “Hye Me Ma” biscuits purchased as it delights customers with a glimpse into the future of biscuit making in Ghana.
“Snaps are a light salted Cracker that simply delights and we are so excited to have people taste the biscuit,” Nicolas Abou Haider, Piccadilly’s new Managing Director proclaims. “You would think that it would be impossible to create such a packet of these wonderful Crackers and have them sold for just 50 peswas. But here at Piccadilly, we insist on giving our customers best value,” Nicolas said, proudly.
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Piccadilly intends to export these biscuits to the Middle East where it has identified a demand for such a high-quality Cracker. It will be the first time that Piccadilly has exported so far afield and this is a tremendous cause for celebration for Ghana, he revealed.
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“We are fed up of seeing imports into our market and it is about time we rose to the challenge of exporting biscuits ourselves,” said Nicolas with optimism. “We look forward to delighting our customers with some other interesting biscuit varieties also and we will let you know about them very soon”.
Commitment to Quality and Expansion
Accra, Aug. 29, GNA - Piccadilly Biscuit Limited has inaugurated a nine billion cedis plant and introduced a new digestive biscuit with the same ingredients as imported ones but costs less. He expressed the hope that with the arrival of Piccadilly, there would be a reduction in the importation of biscuits and check alleged smuggling of biscuits into Ghana.
Mr Haytham Bou Debs, Managing Director of the Company, said the expansion programme increased the labour force by 30 per cent, which had enable it to achieve three tonnes per hour production capacity.
“We have put strict procedures in place to prevent the recurrence of such an incident” commented Nicolas. “Further, Piccadilly’s facilities are today GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certified by the FDA. Piccadilly is a proud brand that offers customers a guarantee of wholesomeness and it has done so for generations. The ingredients that are used in our biscuits are the very best available and our formulations are very nourishing. Not many know, for instance, that all our flour is fortified with the Vitamins that our children need”.
The Special Gem Biscuits
Piccadilly’s Gem Biscuits are uniquely baked to an original recipe that was formulated in the UK over 150 years ago and brought over to Ghana by Dr. Samir Eid.
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At Christmas and at Christmas only, Piccadilly bakes the nation’s favorite, the Gem biscuits. These biscuits are made to a unique recipe that the company’s founder imported from the UK six decades ago.
Piccadilly's Gem Biscuits, a Christmas favorite in Ghana, are made with a unique recipe imported from the UK.
Piccadilly’s Gem biscuits have come to define the spirit of Christmas in Ghana; by the way they are gifted and shared by so many. But in all the activities that come with the yuletide, there is no more interesting to see than how children react to the arrival of Piccadilly’s Gem biscuits. Today, Piccadilly’s Gem biscuits have an international following across the whole Ghanaian diaspora.
Future Investments and Growth
Piccadilly Biscuits has embarked on an investment programme that will see its entire operation revamped and modernised. The company, under the leadership of Mr Nicolas Abou Haider, remains committed to the modernisation of its entire bakery in North Kaneshie. The ambitious programme includes investment in building upgrades, new equipment and specialist staff training programmes.
New equipment is also being installed that will bring to market some exciting new biscuit varieties. All of this is great news for jobs, for manufacturing and for Ghana.
Piccadilly will not only employ more people for manual work, but will invest in upskilling existing staff with specialised training. The company plans to create 200 new jobs within two years and expects to draw from its rich reservoir of great recipes, created over its history, to refresh some amazing new varieties and bring them to the Ghanaian market. Watch this space!
“You know you are close to heaven when our ovens are baking these cookies” Explained Eunice, a production operative that has been with the business for over two decades.“ The delicious smell of real chocolate is everywhere!” Also frantic with excitement are the customers who are buying these biscuits; and they cannot get enough: The bakery has had to put on extra shifts to cope with demand.
We pride ourselves in good quality, affordable biscuits. our range is wide. available for viewing in our online brochure. We are certain you will find the products which will satisfy your choice. customers!
The company’s current range of biscuits includes Digestives, Malt & Milk, “Hye Me Ma”, Crunchies and Shortbread.
Cocoa Beans and Chocolate
Cocoa beans are the basis of chocolate. Although the seeds have an intense bitter taste, they develop a good flavour when fermented. After fermentation, the beans are dried, cleaned, and roasted.
Recent Challenges and Recovery
The company suffered a setback last February when a consignment of imported flour developed weevils in storage whilst still within its expiry date. Although the bakery itself was not contaminated by the affected flour, the incident led to the precautionary stoppage of production by the FDA.
The company has recovered from this incident and has now received full certification from the FDA for its bakery manufacturing operation in North Kaneshie.
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