Case study · Culinary + Products
A patisserie chain that used both Culinary and Products.
The kitchen needed silicone moulds sized to their production ovens. The retail side needed branded consumer versions of the same shapes. Two divisions, one programme.
The brief
What the customer arrived with.
A small chain of patisseries wanted to standardise their signature dessert on trays sized to their commercial ovens. Separately, they wanted to sell a domestic-scale version of the same shape as a retail line.
How it went
Stage by stage.
The kitchen side — Culinary
We designed silicone bakery trays sized to the chain's oven internal dimensions and their depositor plate. PFAS-free food-grade silicone throughout, with the material spec documented to sit inside their food-safety file. The trays are on repeat order as replacements are needed.
The retail side — Products
A smaller, single-cavity version of the same shape, in a food-safe silicone grade suitable for domestic ovens. Branded with an embossed logo. Packaged for retail. Made under contract for their retail arm.
Shared design language
Both versions had to look and feel like the same product family. The internal geometry was consistent — the tray was just a scaled-up multi-cavity of the retail piece. One design conversation covered both.
The result
Both sides of the business use parts made by the same supplier. The kitchen trays are reordered as they wear. The retail line runs to a seasonal schedule. The design integrity is intact because both were designed together.
Lessons
What we took from the job.
What we took from it
A brand's kitchen operations and its retail products often share design DNA. Splitting them across two moulding suppliers usually breaks it.
What we took from it
The food-safety documentation for the kitchen trays and the retail products was consistent because the material spec discipline is the same across the group.
What we took from it
One quote and one PO covered both sides.
Related
Where to read next.
You have parts on the food line and parts in the workshop. Same…
Some organisations don't fit neatly into one division. A homewares brand needs food-safe bakeware and decorative candle…
Projects that need more than one material, coordinated as one job.
Some parts want silicone in one place and polyurethane in another. Or a rubber gasket on a silicone body. Or a hard…
Applications
Umbrella-level applications we cover.
The group
Which divisions worked on this
Every case study is a project we've delivered. The specific customer isn't named — the pattern is what matters.
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Real people, a real workshop
You deal with the people who make it.
No call centre and no middlemen. When you contact TCI Group, you speak to the team who design, build and check your mould.
- A real Warwickshire workshopUnit 15, Waterloo Park, Bidford-on-Avon, Alcester B50 4JG.
- Real people on the phoneCall the team on 01789 224228, Monday to Friday.
- The same team on every jobDesign, production and aftercare come from the people you see here.
- Five brands, one teamMoulds, culinary, construction and contract products, all run from Bidford-on-Avon. See the divisions.
Thomas LaneManaging Director
George PrestonDesign & Project Manager
Kelly BallingerHead of Partnerships
Jim AndertonProduction Manager
TheodoreEmployee Welfare