Four generations of bakers have built the Ferguson Plarre legacy. It’s a tale of two families plying their trade in Melbourne through the 20th century.

Today CEO Steve Plarre and his brother Mike, who heads up production, are driving this proud 125-year-old bakery chain into the next era, building on the European legacy left by their great-grandfather, Otto Plarre.

Otto’s arrival from Germany in 1909 led him to put his patisserie skills to work; he opened a bakery two years later, in Moonee Ponds.

The Ferguson bakery dream had started in 1901 with a shop in Swanston Street, proudly advertising wedding and birthday cakes.

For decades, the families operated in parallel; they experienced drama, survived obstacles, marked milestones in the baking industry, and each had their share of the limelight.

And as with most small businesses, each generation has been immersed in the trade from an early age.

“In 1919, my grandfather (Ray Plarre), at the age of 4, was helping my great-grandfather dip choux pastry into a pot of chocolate and that is the earliest reference to an eclair in Australia,” Steve says.

“There have always been big shoes to fill; Dad had his part to play but particularly my great-grandfather and grandfather, the role that they’ve played in proper Australian baking and pastry cooking history was awesome.”

In 1980, both families saw an opportunity to amalgamate and streamline, and what followed was the classic family struggle – multiplied.

Expanding into franchising

“There were seven Fergusons, two Plarres and some uncles, and everyone was born to rule,” Steve explains. “It took about 10 years to sort out the people willing to do the hard work.

“That’s how we got into franchising, by trying to get the family members out of the boardroom and into running a store,” Steve says. 

In 1992, the business welcomed its first non-family member as a franchisee. These were the glory days of bakery franchises, with Bakers Delight, Brumby’s and Michel’s Patisserie also exploding on the scene through franchising.

As the business has grown, so too have the challenges. Now there is competition from supermarkets and high-end patisseries at opposite ends of the market.

What keeps the bakery chain driving forward is a mix of passion and innovation.

“Our challenge, for 125 years, has been to balance tradition and familiarity with a bit of innovation. New twists on old favourites is the way we like to do it,” Steve says.

“I think it’s very tempting to see a new business open up that is doing the latest food bakery trend and watch it get 100,000 followers in three weeks and know that after 125 years we’ve got 50 or 60,000 followers and just to feel bad about that,” Steve says.

“But our customers like us for who we are and we are getting lots of good impressions and deep engagement with the audience that we do have.

Leaning into heritage

“I think there’s a real place for classic Australian family bakeries and that is us at 125 years. We need to lean into it more,” Steve says. “That means doubling down on the sausage roll, pie and vanilla slice, with some tweaks on those items to keep them interesting.”

Top-quality products, well priced, create a value proposition that is crucial to retaining and bringing in customers, Steve asserts.

“We’ve been looking at what we can control and how we can help our franchisees, and there’s a real opportunity with our scale, with nearly 80 stores.

“As a vertically integrated operation, with our manufacturing facility, focusing on those products that we can make at higher volumes and slightly lower cost than competitors is something that we’re  really leaning on at the moment.”

Over the winter months, Ferguson Plarre has tied value to its 125th anniversary celebrations, offering classic Aussie favourites for $1.25. 

“It’s bringing people back in, reminding them of what it is that we do. Of course value is not always price, it’s experience, it’s quality, it’s all those things,” Steve says.

A depth of culture and value

And it isn’t just the customers who keep coming back. 

“Our original franchisee, who took over our Puckle Street store in 1992 became our franchisee at Mooney Ponds and he was there for maybe 15 years,” Steve says. “Then he sold and retired but he got bored and bought another store and then he came back for another 10 years.”

Beyond the brand name, the products and the innovations, franchisees value the franchisor’s support, Steve says. 

“The depth of culture and value in the business has always been super strong. I do know that there’s a huge appreciation for the fact that if franchisees need to pick up the phone to me and Mike and say the things they need to say, we won’t dodge the phone call, we’ll listen.” 

The brothers know what it’s like to put in the hours to build a business.

“My dad was pretty much brought up by his mum’s parents because his mum and dad literally just worked in the shop all the time, working seven days a week. It could be 60 to 70 hours for both of them, and they got through,” Steve says.

At Ferguson Plarre, small business problems are problems shared.

“We can’t always solve the problem, but we do care, and it’s because we’re in the same boat; we’ve got a family-business heritage and a small-business attitude,” Steve says.