Panadería Artesana Obando has become an industry leader thanks to technical innovations in our production processes, never losing our traditional essence as artisans. From our factory in Utrera, we currently distribute on a daily basis to thousands of customers throughout Spain, as well as having expanded our reach to markets in Europe, North America and Asia.
Panadería Artesana Obando has become an industry leader thanks to technical innovations in our production processes, never losing our traditional essence as artisans. From our factory in Utrera, we currently distribute on a daily basis to thousands of customers throughout Spain, as well as having expanded our reach to markets in Europe, North America and Asia.
The preparation of our products maintains the artisanal essence that has defined our work for over 50 years. Every day, our team of bakers produce our picos, regañás and mostachones with the traditional recipes whose authentic texture and flavour have become our hallmark.
Our raw materials are the primary value that set our products apart. We use grains that come from our own sustainably cultivated farmland, which guarantees that we always work with natural ingredients, in addition to using no additives or preservatives in the preparation of our products.
Our traditional philosophy is not at odds with our adapting to the times. This is why we have been renewing our production processes through technological innovation and our investment in R&D, which has enabled us to respond to the ever-increasing market demand with our novel products.
The preparation of our products maintains the artisanal essence that has defined our work for over 50 years. Every day, our team of bakers produce our picos, regañás and mostachones with the traditional recipes whose authentic texture and flavour have become our hallmark.
Our raw materials are the primary value that set our products apart. We use grains that come from our own sustainably cultivated farmland, which guarantees that we always work with natural ingredients, in addition to using no additives or preservatives in the preparation of our products.
Our traditional philosophy is not at odds with our adapting to the times. This is why we have been renewing our production processes through technological innovation and our investment in R&D, which has enabled us to respond to the ever-increasing market demand with our novel products.
Renowned throughout Spain for our bakeries and confectioneries, our town is home to companies like Panadería Artesana Obando who have, over the years, developed quality products steeped in tradition.
Renowned throughout Spain for our bakeries and confectioneries, our town is home to companies like Panadería Artesana Obando who have, over the years, developed quality products steeped in tradition.
The story of our bakery began more than 55 years ago when, every day before sunrise, we began to create a basic product, following the traditional recipe using sourdough starter, for all the homes of Utrera. Nowadays, our bread continues to be a point of reference in our community. Every day, the town that has watched us grow can enjoy the unmistakable flavour and texture that Panadería Artesana Obando is known for.
Francisco Obando García, son of Bárbara García Sánchez-Campa and José Obando Bernal, a renowned cobbler from Utrera, was born on 3rd March 1942, and he is the founder of what we know today as Panadería Artesana Obando.
At age 18, he leaves the shoe-making business and completes his voluntary military service at Morón and Tablada (Seville). On 1962, he gives up the military service and begins in the world of bread making uided by Panadería Matos, located opposite the Ocho Caños fountain.
On 31st August 1963, Francisco Obando, against his father’s advice, buys Panadería Matos, which was having a difficult time financially. He agrees to a lifetime contract of 850 pesetas a month that he would pay for through the daily sales of the business until the death of the owners.
Catalina the donkey is the “mechanical” means used to move the gears and pulleys used for kneading. On 22nd September 1963, Francisco Obando buys his first machine, the bakery’s first electric dough mixer. No more than 20 days had passed since Catalina the donkey was in charge of the kneading until the first machine was added to the task.
The Panadería Artesana Obando brand is created, taking a big step forward and creating a long family tradition of bread making. Francisco uses stone ovens typical of the time, the authentic ones that must be hand-loaded with kilos and kilos of firewood. These ovens have little volume but provide genuine quality and flavour.
The weighing of each loaf of bread is done manually, and each day no more than 50kg of flour, which is collected each afternoon at the Utrera mill, is consumed, providing for a minimal production of about 250 loaves of the traditional bread of that time: the boba, maquila, telera, retorcido and redondos.
This would be the last year that Catalina the donkey would help to knead at the bakery. Francisco continues to increase the dough-mixing machinery with the goal of having a greater production capacity. This foresight would eventually come to fruition, as, Panadería Obando currently relies on many dough mixers to be able to keep up with production.
Little by little, volume increases, the business grows, and so does the family. Along come the children (Manolo, Beatriz, Paco, Ana, Víctor and Jaime), all of whom lend a hand to some degree in the business.
Utrera’s bakers create the bread co-op and insist that Francisco join them. He joins but decides to leave the co-op at a later time. At that moment, Francisco leases a bakery for two years to produce his own bread. After that, he gets back to his roots and starts to set up the factory, reflecting his entrepreneurial spirit and his willingness to take on the risk that working independently entails.
The machinery and installations adapt to the times and the range of products grows.
Francisco purchases the first industrial bakery line. This machine gives rise to new types of bread (pepito, mini-pepito, viena), which weigh little and part of whose production can be carried out with this machine.
The initial production of our first picos begins. These include colines, regañás and the first rosquillas, which are hand-made one by one. From this moment, the production of picos begins in the bakery.
Some 30 kilos of picos and 1,000 kilos of bread are produced daily.
The first semi-automatic dough mixer arrives following the investments in new machinery to streamline production. From this moment on, the weighing and packaging processes begin to be carried out with machines and are no longer done by hand.
The business breaks into the national market, gaining its first clients with major distribution, such as Hermanos Ayala and Cobreros. In addition, this growth of the business also allows them to enter the catering sector at a provincial level.
Hermanos Ayala becomes the main client of Panadería Obando, due to they produced for them. This client makes the company take the big leap, increasing expectations and production capacities.
Thanks to the investments made, Panadería Obando makes a great leap forward in infrastructure, personnel and equipment, allowing for the arrival of new products adapted to market demand: trencinas, wholemeal rosquillas, violines, bolitas, mini-regañás and artisanal picos, allowing for increased volume and a greater expansion at the national level.
The 2008 financial crisis and the crisis within the sector leads to a decline in the consumption of Panadería Obando bread, driven by the enormous competition presented by industrialised bakeries flooding the market with frozen loaves that reach every corner of the country.
Facing this new challenge, we decide to begin researching to provide different, more innovative products to help us stand out from everyone else on the market at that moment.
Like with every great discovery, luck and careful consideration also play a key role in this story. While Víctor Obando, fifth child and present-day baker, is looking for new alternatives, the machine has an error and, amongst the chippings, appears the Rustic Gourmet pico, Panadería Obando’s crown jewel.
These picos enjoy an immediate success, acclaimed by the public who find them to be an attractive alternative to what was already on the market. From this discovery, the business starts to grow exponentially.
We begin to build new premises that open in 2015, one of the most modern factories for the production of picos and regañás in the whole country.
This change allows us to reach major production volumes and puts our products on the shelves of the most prestigious distribution chains (Carrefour, El Corte Inglés, MAKRO, Alcampo, Aldi, Ahorramás, Condis…) and on the tables of the country’s best restaurants, assisted by our distributor network, now reaching every province of Spain.
The province of Cádiz, and more specifically Casa Bigote, had a great importance in the future of the Rustic Gourmet Picos. After a few months of trying, Jaime got the owner of the legendary Sanlúcar de Barrameda restaurant, Fernando Hermoso, to try the new rustic gourmet picos, who was automatically captivated by them and began serving them in his bar.
This served as a definitive springboard for its new flagship product, since this was the perfect showcase for it to begin to position itself from the province of Cádiz to the rest of the country.
With the success of our Rustic Gourmet Picos, we have only grown more, allowing us to cross international borders and create a presence in countries we had never imagined, such as the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Germany, the Czech Republic and Portugal, as well as crossing the pond to Mexico and Asia.
This brand internationalisation is one of the pillars for which Panadería Obando begins to develop new products in search of new market niches both in Spain and internationally.
Jaime and Víctor’s determination to continue to offer products adapted to the new consumer demands and market necessities leads Panadería Obando to launch Gluten Free Picos, Picos with Functional Ingredients in 2019 and 100% Organic Wholemeal Picos in 2020.
At present, Panadería Obando continues to expand and consolidate its position in the market by taking our products from Utrera to the world and expanding our product range. All of this growth would not have been possible without the hard work and effort of every one of the workers who have passed through this company over the years, turning it into one big family.
A family that has embraced members that will always remain in our memory, such as Pepe Mena, who worked with us for 30 years and became one of the bastions of the regañá, or Francisco Castillo, who worked just about every position in the bakery from 1989 to 2016 and is considered to be a part of the Obando family.
Francisco Obando García, son of Bárbara García Sánchez-Campa and José Obando Bernal, a renowned cobbler from Utrera, was born on 3rd March 1942, and he is the founder of what we know today as Panadería Artesana Obando.
At age 18, he leaves the shoe-making business and completes his voluntary military service at Morón and Tablada (Seville). On 1962, he gives up the military service and begins in the world of bread making uided by Panadería Matos, located opposite the Ocho Caños fountain.
On 31st August 1963, Francisco Obando, against his father’s advice, buys Panadería Matos, which was having a difficult time financially. He agrees to a lifetime contract of 850 pesetas a month that he would pay for through the daily sales of the business until the death of the owners.
Catalina the donkey is the “mechanical” means used to move the gears and pulleys used for kneading. On 22nd September 1963, Francisco Obando buys his first machine, the bakery’s first electric dough mixer. No more than 20 days had passed since Catalina the donkey was in charge of the kneading until the first machine was added to the task.
The Panadería Artesana Obando brand is created, taking a big step forward and creating a long family tradition of bread making. Francisco uses stone ovens typical of the time, the authentic ones that must be hand-loaded with kilos and kilos of firewood. These ovens have little volume but provide genuine quality and flavour.
The weighing of each loaf of bread is done manually, and each day no more than 50kg of flour, which is collected each afternoon at the Utrera mill, is consumed, providing for a minimal production of about 250 loaves of the traditional bread of that time: the boba, maquila, telera, retorcido and redondos.
This would be the last year that Catalina the donkey would help to knead at the bakery. Francisco continues to increase the dough-mixing machinery with the goal of having a greater production capacity. This foresight would eventually come to fruition, as, Panadería Obando currently relies on many dough mixers to be able to keep up with production.
Little by little, volume increases, the business grows, and so does the family. Along come the children (Manolo, Beatriz, Paco, Ana, Víctor and Jaime), all of whom lend a hand to some degree in the business.
Utrera’s bakers create the bread co-op and insist that Francisco join them. He joins but decides to leave the co-op at a later time. At that moment, Francisco leases a bakery for two years to produce his own bread. After that, he gets back to his roots and starts to set up the factory, reflecting his entrepreneurial spirit and his willingness to take on the risk that working independently entails.
The machinery and installations adapt to the times and the range of products grows.
Francisco purchases the first industrial bakery line. This machine gives rise to new types of bread (pepito, mini-pepito, viena), which weigh little and part of whose production can be carried out with this machine.
The initial production of our first picos begins. These include colines, regañás and the first rosquillas, which are hand-made one by one. From this moment, the production of picos begins in the bakery.
Some 30 kilos of picos and 1,000 kilos of bread are produced daily.
The first semi-automatic dough mixer arrives following the investments in new machinery to streamline production. From this moment on, the weighing and packaging processes begin to be carried out with machines and are no longer done by hand.
The business breaks into the national market, gaining its first clients with major distribution, such as Hermanos Ayala and Cobreros. In addition, this growth of the business also allows them to enter the catering sector at a provincial level.
Hermanos Ayala becomes the main client of Panadería Obando, due to they produced for them. This client makes the company take the big leap, increasing expectations and production capacities.
Thanks to the investments made, Panadería Obando makes a great leap forward in infrastructure, personnel and equipment, allowing for the arrival of new products adapted to market demand: trencinas, wholemeal rosquillas, violines, bolitas, mini-regañás and artisanal picos, allowing for increased volume and a greater expansion at the national level.
The 2008 financial crisis and the crisis within the sector leads to a decline in the consumption of Panadería Obando bread, driven by the enormous competition presented by industrialised bakeries flooding the market with frozen loaves that reach every corner of the country.
Facing this new challenge, we decide to begin researching to provide different, more innovative products to help us stand out from everyone else on the market at that moment.
Like with every great discovery, luck and careful consideration also play a key role in this story. While Víctor Obando, fifth child and present-day baker, is looking for new alternatives, the machine has an error and, amongst the chippings, appears the Rustic Gourmet pico, Panadería Obando’s crown jewel.
These picos enjoy an immediate success, acclaimed by the public who find them to be an attractive alternative to what was already on the market. From this discovery, the business starts to grow exponentially.
We begin to build new premises that open in 2015, one of the most modern factories for the production of picos and regañás in the whole country.
This change allows us to reach major production volumes and puts our products on the shelves of the most prestigious distribution chains (Carrefour, El Corte Inglés, MAKRO, Alcampo, Aldi, Ahorramás, Condis…) and on the tables of the country’s best restaurants, assisted by our distributor network, now reaching every province of Spain.
The province of Cádiz, and more specifically Casa Bigote, had a great importance in the future of the Rustic Gourmet Picos. After a few months of trying, Jaime got the owner of the legendary Sanlúcar de Barrameda restaurant, Fernando Hermoso, to try the new rustic gourmet picos, who was automatically captivated by them and began serving them in his bar.
This served as a definitive springboard for its new flagship product, since this was the perfect showcase for it to begin to position itself from the province of Cádiz to the rest of the country.
With the success of our Rustic Gourmet Picos, we have only grown more, allowing us to cross international borders and create a presence in countries we had never imagined, such as the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Germany, the Czech Republic and Portugal, as well as crossing the pond to Mexico and Asia.
This brand internationalisation is one of the pillars for which Panadería Obando begins to develop new products in search of new market niches both in Spain and internationally.
Jaime and Víctor’s determination to continue to offer products adapted to the new consumer demands and market necessities leads Panadería Obando to launch Gluten Free Picos, Picos with Functional Ingredients in 2019 and 100% Organic Wholemeal Picos in 2020.
At present, Panadería Obando continues to expand and consolidate its position in the market by taking our products from Utrera to the world and expanding our product range. All of this growth would not have been possible without the hard work and effort of every one of the workers who have passed through this company over the years, turning it into one big family.
A family that has embraced members that will always remain in our memory, such as Pepe Mena, who worked with us for 30 years and became one of the bastions of the regañá, or Francisco Castillo, who worked just about every position in the bakery from 1989 to 2016 and is considered to be a part of the Obando family.
Our clients are the reason we light the oven every night, so your opinion is our top priority. If you’d like to make a suggestion or have any questions for us, write to us here and we will contact you as soon as possible.