Queensland Bakery is a trusted, approved NHS supplier with more than 30 years’ experience delivering innovative baked solutions for healthcare. From our BRC Grade AA+ accredited bakery, we produce snacks and desserts for patient dining and hospital retail, supplying around 70,000 dessert portions every month to hospitals across the UK.

Working with approximately 60 NHS Trusts, we partner with dietitians and catering teams to create patient-first menu solutions. Our dietitian-approved Marybake Health range is helping to bridge the gap in patient nutrition and advance our mission to make nutrition a force for good.

Approach to Healthcare

We support hospitals and NHS Trusts to meet the nutritional needs of patients with our Marybake Health range of dietitian-approved snacks and desserts.

Our product developers have spent time in hospitals to understand patients’ needs and create products that provide good, tasty nutrition, reduce operational complexity, and increase flexibility
to best meet hospital requirements.

Our Goals:
• Improve patient care with the right nutrition
• Help remove the stigma around hospital food
• Enhance the patient experience
• Reduce food waste with foods patients enjoy
• Support ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People’

Impact of Products/Services on Healthcare

Marybake Health snacks and desserts help hospitals to meet the standards set out in the Independent Review of NHS Hospital Food in 2022, The BDA and BAPEN standards.

Report of the Independent Review of NHS Hospital Food, 2022:

“Minimum of two high-quality snacks offered to patients between meals (one in the evening) to support additional nutritional requirements; and must include those for healthier eating, higher energy, vegetarian, easy to chew, vegan, cultural, special and modified texture diets.”

Marybake Health uniquely offers products developed to meet the specific nutritional needs of different patient groups through our Higher Protein and Vegan ranges. Designed with both nutritional efficacy and patient satisfaction in mind, these products provide a practical and enjoyable way to optimise protein intake as a ‘food first’ or food-based measure.

We recognise that taste is just as important as nutrition in helping patients eat enough to meet their needs. That’s why our products come in a variety of delicious flavours to offer choice and are in manageable portion sizes—ideal for patients with a reduced appetite who may only manage small amounts.

The impact of the difference we have made is noted by Nicholas Lee, Production and Development Chef at the University Hospitals of Leicester:

“The close working relationship I have with Queensland has helped both parties achieve their common goals of achieving staff, patient and visitor satisfaction.”

Innovation

Good nutritional care in hospital is an essential part of patient recovery, health outcomes and also their experience. Many patients will have increased nutritional requirements secondary to their disease status or injury. However, this can sometimes be difficult for patients to achieve when combined with factors such as reduced appetite.

The British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Malnutrition and Nutritional Care Survey in Adults 2022 found that 44% of hospital patients were at risk of malnutrition. This can consequently lead to a longer duration in hospital, increased risk of complications, and higher mortality rates.

Working with dietitians, we know it can sometimes be challenging to find higher-protein snacks and desserts that patients enjoy and to offer additional options.

That’s why our Marybake Health range of higher-protein snacks and desserts has been specifically developed to provide patients with additional choice, whilst supporting them in meeting their protein requirements.

The higher protein range contains over 7g of protein per serving for snacks and 11g for desserts (without accompaniments such as ice cream or custard).

By incorporating higher protein products into hospital menus, hospitals can offer additional options that support diverse nutritional needs. This approach exemplifies a food-first strategy, combining nutrition with familiar and appealing flavours to support patient outcomes and enhance the overall patient experience.

Future Direction

We’re continuing to invest in improving patients' experiences and are working closely with hospital trusts to understand the needs and challenges facing patients in hospitals. Our product development team is currently working to expand our Marybake Health range of desserts, and we’re reviewing the need for further snacks and desserts for specialised diets. Contact us to find out more about the ranges and when they will be available.