Poppies in the press (De Tijd)
We’re proud to share that Poppies Bakeries has been featured in De Tijd!
The article highlights our Zonnebeke site, giving Poppies a well-deserved spotlight as the world’s largest cream puff producer.
It paints a beautiful picture of who we are, where we come from, and how we continue to grow – driven by craftsmanship, innovation, and passion. A wonderful recognition of the work and dedication of all our colleagues, every single day.
Read the full article here (Dutch): Bij Poppies Bakeries in Zonnebeke, de grootste soezenbakker ter wereld | De Tijd
If you don’t have access to the article, here’s a summary in English:
“Watch out,” warns Antony Popelier, son of one of Poppies Bakeries’ founders, during a tour of the Zonnebeke factory. We watch as nozzles rapidly deposit choux pastry onto a conveyor belt. The warning comes too late: I lean forward slightly, breaking a laser beam, triggering an alarm, and stopping the nozzles.
“That happens sometimes. The safety system works,” Popelier laughs. He tries to restart the machine from the control panel, but an employee’s help is eventually needed.
The 22 nozzles, normally working 54 cycles per minute, remain idle for half a minute. That’s 594 fewer choux today – a small drama out of nearly 1.5 million produced daily and shipped worldwide. Across the three other production sites, Poppies produces 7.5 million choux every day.
We continue past two 60-metre-long ovens where the batter – choux in one, éclairs in the other – rolls for 15 minutes. Further along, a robot pierces the pastries with thin needles and fills them with whipped cream, pastry cream, or a mix before freezing.
In addition to the classics, Poppies produces novelties: choux with KitKat filling and KitKat crumble on top, in collaboration with Nestlé. For the American coffee chain Starbucks, a tiramisu-flavoured recipe was developed.
From Zonnebeke, Poppies has grown over decades into the world’s largest cream puff producer. “At one point, the family decided: ‘This market is ours.’ We continued to invest in extra capacity, new factories, acquisitions, and automation. It’s a niche, but when you add up all volumes across countries, it goes a long way,” says Brecht Castelein, representing the second branch of the family.
“In Belgium, choux may be less trendy, but in Germany and the Netherlands, they’re very popular,” he adds. On the packaging line, boxes of about twenty frozen Windbeutel (German for cream puffs) pass by, destined for Edeka, Germany’s largest supermarket group.
“We sell them all the way to the US, Japan, Australia, and Korea. It’s an affordable dessert and tricky to make at home. That helps. I don’t know many people who attempt it themselves,” Castelein continues. “The taste seems universal. We use roughly the same recipe for all countries, with small adjustments here and there, like extra vanilla for the French market or larger sizes for the Netherlands.”
Poppies – a reference to both the Popelier family and the poppy flower, a symbol of First World War victims – is now a company with €460 million in revenue and 1,400 employees. Spread across five countries, it produces choux, éclairs, donuts, coconut rochers, pretzels, macarons, filled waffles, brownies, carré confitures, and cigarettes russes in 13 factories.
“Sweet bakery,” says Castelein. “It’s always been our common thread. We combine it with a bit of restlessness to keep innovating and growing.”
The company sells to restaurants and hotels, but mainly through supermarkets – in their own brand or private labels – where products are found on shelves or in freezers. “Like these,” says CEO Patrick Reekmans, showing a box of mini donuts. Brightly coloured, frozen calorie bombs, very popular for birthday parties.
Locally, Poppies is known in schools and youth associations for annual cookie sales. But the days of doing business under the church tower are long gone. “Most people don’t know we’re this big internationally. We sell in 64 countries,” Reekmans explains.
The story of Poppies Bakeries began in 1976, when Luc Popelier joined his father’s bakery. He envisioned something bigger and found in his brother-in-law Frans Castelein the perfect partner. They bought an industrial oven and started baking biscuits. First coconut rochers, then other sweets, selling door-to-door to local markets and shops.
The first ten years were a struggle to break even. The major breakthrough came in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the rise of fast freezing technology, preserving quality. This coincided with the expansion of Belgian fry companies and the international fame of La Lorraine and Vandemoortele for frozen breads and pastries.
In Europe, almost all retailers found their way to Zonnebeke. In the US, Walmart, Target, and Kroger became clients. “We grew gradually, first exporting from Belgium, then via a local factory,” says Popelier.
The first choux in the Bible Belt, North Carolina, came out of the oven on September 11, 2001. The company now generates $85 million in revenue in the US.
Between 2000 and 2015, the family shareholders expanded through about ten acquisitions, adding new product categories: filled waffles, carré confitures, donuts…
This year, Poppies is investing another €30 million, including starting speculoos production and expanding donut production, and recently acquired Milcamps in Dour, Hainaut.
The company’s revenue graph is almost a straight upward line, with a dip during the pandemic. Profitability fluctuates, especially due to volatile raw material prices such as eggs, chocolate, and coconut.
Next year, Poppies Bakeries will celebrate its 50th anniversary. “It’s time to think about how we’ll celebrate,” concludes Popelier, who previously marked the 25th anniversary by building the world’s tallest tower of choux with 28,000 pieces, over eight metres high.
