There was a big surprise for bosses from the Jenkins Bakery when they attended the annual Culture and Lifestyle awards organised by The Wave and Swansea Sound radio stations at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea.
The Llanelli-based bakery received one of the most prestigious awards of the evening – the Lifetime Achievement Award.
It was a fitting honour as the bakery is currently celebrating its 90th anniversary.
“It came as something of a shock to receive the award,” said Commercial Director and Company Secretary David Jenkins.
“We had no idea beforehand as we didn’t know that we were in the running for anything.
“It was a great honour to receive the award and very appropriate in this, our 90th year. It was also nice to hear how the public had backed us to receive the award.
“As a bakery, our HQ is in Llanelli, but we have shops throughout the area covered by the radio stations. It is nice to learn that we are appreciated and that our achievements over 90 years can be recognised in such a nice way.
“At heart, we are a family business taking pride in delivering quality products which are appreciated by our customers. We take nothing for granted, including the loyalty of our customers. In our business, the customer is King and we are constantly looking at improving our business to keep our customers happy.”
Listeners of the two radio stations were asked to vote for their favourite places, from restaurants to best website, long standing business to best live music venue.
Sponsored by Blazers and Sunnyhaven caravans and Action for Children, the awards evening was supported by local business, celebrities and dignitaries.
There was entertainment from Spice Girl Melanie C and performers from The Mark Jermin Stage School.
Helen Bowden, Station Director said: “The awards were voted purely by the public and all we had to do was count the votes – a record number this year as the radio stations have just celebrated increased listener figures of 189,000.
“The evening celebrated local businesses and all the hard work and effort they have put in to make their businesses successful.”
Jenkins the Bakers is a third generation family business.
During their 90th anniversary year they have had the honour of hosting a two-day conference of the British Confectioners’ Association.
The Jenkins bakery employs 300 people, full and part-time, across 25 different stores in South Wales.
The company has the Gold Standard Welsh Food Hygiene Award and the Investors in People award.
Operations Director Russell Jenkins said: “We are very proud to continue to be a family business and I think that shines through in everything we do.”
The business employs 70 people at its Trostre HQ, while the Jenkins shop network stretches from Carmarthen to Bridgend. There are 13 shops in Carmarthenshire and even one as far afield as Powys.
The Jenkins Bakery website is at www.jenkins.bakery.co.uk
You can follow the bakery on Facebook by searching for ‘Jenkins Bakery’
You can follow the bakery on Twitter by searching for ‘@jenkinsbakery’
