Maxima presents new food production premises

Expanding its production of food-to-go meals and pastry, Maxima presents its newest food production premises Maxima Food Factory, located at the Akropole shopping and entertainment centre. Maxima Food Factory ensure that around 1,000 people every day can buy delicious meals as well as various tasty baked goods. Total investment in the factory comes to almost 320,000 Euro.

Around 90% of products and ingredients used to make the meals produced by Maxima Food Factory are locally sourced from Latvian producers and farmers. Suppliers include the Baltijas dārzeņi cooperative, Latvijas maiznieks, Rīgas piena kombināts, Liepkalni, Balticovo, Spilva and a range of other leading Latvian businesses.

“People’s eating habits are changing, and demand is increasing for delicious, high-quality food-to-go meals for taking away or eating on-site. This is why Maxima is considering on a strategic level how best to provide high-quality food to its customers. Maxima Food Factory’s concept has been developed to completely supply the large demand from customers at the Maxima XXX store at Akropole for food-to-go and baked goods, overseeing the entire preparation process - from daily deliveries of fresh ingredients, to always-fresh, high-quality meals behind the counters,” explains Maxima Latvija Board Member Kristīne Āboltiņa.

The concept of Maxima Food Factory combines hand-prepared cooking with the latest industrial technology both in ingredient storage spaces and food preparation zones, ensuring the highest standards of quality for food preparation. Modern induction cooktops, fast-cooling freezing chambers, an industrial grill and other modern technological solutions will make work more convenient for the 32 Maxima Food Factory employees.

Maxima Food Factory provides a wide range of meals: main courses, grilled dishes, a broad selection of sides, various types of freshly-prepared salad, sandwiches, baked goods, a wide range of snacks, as well as an expanded sushi range - 11 types in total. Akropole’s unique range includes freshly-cooked gourmet burgers and Belgian waffles of various flavour combinations, which are freshly prepared on-site for each customer.

Maxima Food Factory’s products are firm favourites among customers. The Top 5 most popular products are fresh Caesar salad, chicken patties, meat salad, mashed potatoes—of which approximately one tonne is sold every month—and potato pancakes. The most popular meals with meat are chicken cutlets, lasagna, jellied pork leg, and French-style cutlets. Around 6,700 patties —chicken and pork—are purchased every month. The Top 5 salads are Caesar salad, meat salad, cheese salad, salad with ponzu dressing, and layered tuna salad. 6.2 tonnes of salad are purchased every month. Meanwhile, among sides, various types of potato dish are popular, selling a total of 2 tonnes every month.

Customers love the Akropole Maxima XXX store’s unique assortment of goods, especially the freshly-cooked craft burgers and Belgian waffles, which are cooked in-store.

Every month, the Maxima XXX store at Akropole sells around 680 kg of large cakes, more than 2,400 different smaller cakes, and more than 12,000 different bread products prepared at Maxima Food Factory, including pastries, pasties, various types of cake and a range of other products. Customers’ favourite cakes are mascarpone cake, banana cake, cottage cheese-banana cake, tiramisu, and Piena gardums (Milk Delight).

Maxima employs a total of 500 people throughout Latvia to prepare its to-go meals and baked goods. There are seven Maxima Food Factory premises in three Latvian cities—Riga, Daugavpils and Liepāja—and there are smaller bakeries in almost every store providing a fresh array of pastries every day.