Benchmark Quality Speculoos with 50% Lower Energy Using a Data-Driven Hybrid Steel Belt Oven
Client
Vermeiren
Country
Belgium
Vermeiren is a legacy Belgian biscuit brand, internationally recognized for its artisanal speculoos a crisp, caramelized biscuit delicately spiced and golden baked. With a strong presence in Europe and beyond, Vermeiren maintains rigid product standards across all baking lines, especially in terms of texture, flavor, color, and consistency
THE CHALLENGE
Install a new baking oven on Vermeiren’s expanded production line to keep up with rising demand
Vermeiren needed to install a new baking oven on their expanded production line, but with a clear condition: “The new oven must replicate the exact baking performance of our traditional ovens. We cannot compromise the speculoos product quality under any circumstances.”
Their key objectives
- Preserve the unique bake profile of speculoos
- Achieve perfect consistency in caramelization and color
- Lower energy consumption
- Avoid long tuning periods during startup
- Maintain the signature surface and bite achieved using steel belt baking
OUR ENGINEERING APPROACH
Data Before Design
Rather than rely on assumptions, New Era deployed a specialized Data Logger inside Vermeiren’s existing ovens to scientifically capture the baking conditions responsible for the perfect speculoos outcome.
We recorded and analyzed
Zone-wise
temperatures
Heat flux and
distribution patterns
Moisture release rate
and drying curve
Product core
temperature and timing
Airflow, exhaust, and
humidity control
This allowed us to map the exact thermal fingerprint of Vermeiren’s speculoos production process.
THE SOLUTION
A Custom Hybrid Steel Belt Oven
Zonal control of top and bottom heat
Balanced airflow and exhaust system for moisture control
Hybrid heating flexibility: enabled radiation & convection
Product-specific oven length and bake zone configuration
Intelligent PLC system for precise, repeatable control
Hygienic design for easy cleaning and low downtime
COMMISIONING
First Results After Fine-Tuning
Once the oven was installed and fine-tuned to match the data profile
-
The first production batches delivered benchmark quality speculoos
-
Color, texture, and flavor matched and exceeded the output of legacy ovens
-
No additional rework or hardware changes were needed post commissioning
The client declared:
This is the highest quality speculoos we have ever produced.”
OUR ENGINEERING APPROACH
A Massive Operational Gain
Beyond quality, the new oven delivered impressive energy efficiency:
50%
lower gas
consumption compared to traditional ovens
Reduced
carbon footprint
and energy cost per kg of biscuit
Stable
baking
with minimal manual adjustment