The Waffle Shuffle

Dutch cookie manufacturer sees the sweeter side of life thanks to ultra modern integration line

Family-owned Schep’s Bakeries Ltd. has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a small business for small specialty stores over 35 years ago.

“I just love doing what I do here,” says Cornelius Neufeld, operations manager of the company’s Ohio business who originally joined NatureFresh at its Leamington home base about eight years ago.

Founded by Dutch-born Arie Schep, Schep’s Bakery quickly blossomed into the only stroopwafel manufacturer in North America, distributing the Double Dutch waffle cookie assortments into larger retail stores in Canada and the U.S. market.

For the past eight years, the Norwich, Ont. based Schep’s Bakery facility stands at an impressive 50,000-square-feet, where they are conveniently at the centre of a predominantly Dutch community. “We’ve grown from a smaller shop to a bigger shop,” says Schep’s Bakery president Jacco Schep, who has taken up the mantle from his father and has continued to oversee production of only the best
waffle cookies, credited to a tightly guarded family recipe.