Case Study: GAIL's & LaunchAssist
One-day setups. Zero chaos.
GAIL’s Bakery has spent over 15 years baking exceptional bread and pastries, with a commitment to seasonal ingredients, local sourcing, and communities. From its very first bakery in London’s Hampstead, GAIL’s has grown to 170 locations across the UK (as of March 2025), becoming a household name for fresh food, good coffee, and welcoming service. But behind the counter of each new bakery is a team of specialists coordinating a finely tuned launch—where every detail matters. That’s where United UK’s LaunchAssist service comes in. We spoke to Giorgia Aversa, GAIL’s New Bakery Opening Coordinator, to understand how LaunchAssist supports the smooth, successful opening of each new GAIL’s location—no matter how complex the site or schedule. “LaunchAssist has been pivotal in supporting new openings at GAIL’s. It’s an extremely reliable and professional service that has simplified our handover/setup days to a great extent.” – Giorgia Aversa, GAIL’s
“LaunchAssist has been pivotal in supporting new openings at GAIL’s. It’s an extremely reliable and professional service that has simplified our handover/setup days to a great extent.”
– Giorgia Aversa, GAIL’s
“Being able to have all necessary equipment arriving in one delivery streamlines the opening process and relieves the pressure of the loading-bay booking systems across the stations."
The challenge: Coordinating the complexity
Opening a new GAIL’s bakery is not a copy-paste process. Each site—whether on a high street, inside a major railway station, or in a new commercial development—comes with its own layout, delivery restrictions, team dynamics, and technical quirks. Giorgia oversees the transition from construction handover to a fully functioning bakery, orchestrating inputs from multiple internal departments and external suppliers under intense time pressure. “There’s an infinite variation on the theme. What works in one site won’t work in another. You must adapt, troubleshoot, and stay flexible. That’s why reliable partners are absolutely critical.” With so many moving parts, even minor delays or missing items can knock a launch off schedule. The priority is always to get teams trained, stores stocked, and everything ready to open the doors with confidence.
LaunchAssist doesn’t just save time—it ensures that every GAIL’s bakery opens with the same level of care and consistency. By reducing labour costs, enabling full training, and avoiding set-up day chaos, the service sets each new team up for success. Allowing Giorgia to focus on supporting her team rather than solving logistics problems.
“I would recommend LaunchAssist to all hospitality business dealing with new openings, the peace of mind of such reliable service has been unvaluable. It has reduced our labour costs, freeing up time and budget for further training and has truly allowed us to set each bakery team up for success!” – Giorgia Aversa, GAIL’s
The solution: LaunchAssist
With LaunchAssist, GAIL’s receives a complete “opening kit” delivered in one seamless, consolidated drop. The kit is built to each site’s spec, meaning less chasing, fewer surprises, and more time for staff training and customer prep. “Having the “opening kit” arriving in one day consistently at the pre-agreed time has meant being able to complete bakery set up in only one day; this allows for the team involved to have 1 day off before the bakery is due to open and for 2 full days days of training for a Friday opening, enabling optimal performance once our doors open to the public.” – Giorgia. Some locations are inherently more challenging than others. For example, sensitive sites such as those within the Network Rail estate – GAIL’s have recently opened sites at St Pancras, London Bridge and Liverpool Street stations in London – include particularly complex logistics and safety regulations. In these situations, LaunchAssist makes a big difference, providing hands-on support to make sure everything stays on track. “Being able to have all necessary equipment arriving in one delivery streamlines the opening process and relieves the pressure of the loading-bay booking systems across the stations. – Giorgia Aversa, GAIL’s