1885
Founded by a young husband and wife, Frederick, and Alice Coopland, we began trading as a small pork butcher and pie maker on Market Street, Scarborough. It didn’t take long for our bestselling pork pies and savouries to make a name for us in the local community. After continued success, Alice took on a new shop on Newborough, Scarborough in 1915, which remained as our company HQ for the next 45 years.
Where It All Started
1930's
During the 1930’s, the next generation of the Cooplands family was ready to take on ownership, led by Frederick Coopland (known as ‘Mickey’) and his wife Ellen (known as ‘Nicky’). After the war their son, Freddie, returned from the Navy and inherited the business, aged 17. Freddie trained in baking and confectionery, taking us into a more traditional bakery route.
Expansion Begins
1960's
We continued to grow, focusing on the development of our Newborough site, with Scarborough’s first self-service supermarket opening on our ground floor. We opened a restaurant on the first floor and a bakery on the second floor.
A New Generation
1980's
After a period of consolidation, Paul Coopland took over the family business in 1984. We began to grow again, reinvesting in new Shops and focusing on the development of a state-of-the-art bakery which was completed in 1991 at Eastfield, Scarborough. By the late 90’s we expanded our Eastfield bakery by 20,000 sq. ft to support our continued growth.
Investing in People
2000's
We continue to grow rapidly from 2009 by acquiring Woodhead’s bakery in Scarborough, Ainsley’s in Leeds and Peters Cathedral Bakers in the Northeast. Taking our total number of shops to over 155, supplied to from 3 bakeries across Hull, Scarborough, and Durham. Towards the end of 2020 Paul made the difficult decision for Cooplands next journey of growth, to be under the new ownership of the EG Group which began in 2021 .
A New Chapter
Now
August 2025 saw us celebrate our 140th birthday and shortly after we announced an exciting new chapter, as we moved back under local ownership.
In returning to local ownership Paul Coopland rejoined us in a non-exec capacity, alongside a new Board of Directors who know and love the business. Led by CEO John Ruddock, supported by Chairman David Salkeld and an experienced leadership team, Cooplands remains proudly committed to baking great quality food, delivering friendly service, and serving the communities we’ve been part of for generations.
Our focus stays the same, fresh, delicious food made with care, every day.
