Kytons Bakery Australia has been a popular food business in South Australia since 1938 and has been owned by
Darren and Sharon Sutton since 2003.

Kytons has had many personas over this time – a catering company, a successful stall in the Adelaide Central Market, and Adelaide’s premier fundraising bakery for over 30 years.

Kytons products are now available in over 200 retail stores in Adelaide and is currently expanding interstate – introducing the rest of Australia to the delicious, award winning products that South Australians have been enjoying for decades.

The Past

• Kytons bakery was started as Avon Catering in September 1938, by the Hignett brothers.
• Within a few years, the name was changed to Kytons Kakes – the “Kytons” was simply a made up name – the brothers had wanted something that started with “K” and that’s what they thought of!
• Kytons bakehouse was in Penney Place in the city and Kytons took up a stall in the Central Market in the mid 1940s.
• In the 1950s, a new bakehouse was built on Carrington Street and cakes were delivered to the market in huge quantities as the business thrived.
• Kytons stall remained a part of the market until 1988, continuing to sell top quality bar cakes as well as yeast and cream products.
• The bakehouse moved out of the city in 1980 to a site opposite the now Ashford Hospital.
• Kytons has only been sold twice, in 1975 to John and Carol Darwin, and in 2003 to Darren and Sharon Sutton. Although the business has not remained in the same family, on both occasions, the business has been sold to a friend of the previous owner’s son, so the original ties remain strong and ownership by a small dedicated family has remained.

The Birth and Success of the Community Lamington Drive

• In 1982, Kytons supplied sheets of sponge, chocolate dip and coconut to the mothers committee at the owners son’s school to make lamingtons for a fundraising drive and it was a great success.
• Initially the lamingtons were provided in “kit form” – sheets of sponge, buckets of dip and coconut and some instructions. During much of the 1980s Kytons Lamington Drives consisted of trestles of sponge being madly cut, chunks of sponge being dipped in chocolate and then coconut and a lot of mess as dozens, of mostly mums, handmade the lamingtons at schools and scout, guide and church halls all over Adelaide with Kytons fundraising lamington kit.
• By 1998, the lamington side of the business became so big that Kytons left the market and for the next decade concentrated almost exclusively on Kytons Community Lamington Drives.
• As time passed, Kytons began to bake, dip and pack lamingtons into readymade packets at its bakehouse, as they are today, rather than supplying the kits to the fundraising groups. The fundraising drives were also expanded to include hot cross buns, winter pies and festive fare for Christmas.

The Kite is Added

In the late 80s, Kytons was looking for a symbol to define the Kytons brand.  After experimenting with amongst other things a “lamington with legs”, a “Kytons Kite” was decided upon and this branding remains an integral part of the Kytons business for nearly 30 years.

The Current Owners

• In 2003, the business once again changed hands, to current owners Darren and Sharon Sutton and Kytons moved to larger and more modern premises at Edwardstown.
• The Edwardstown premises features a retail outlet open to the public on weekdays and gave the business space to expand.
• While fundraising drives remained an important and integral part of Kytons identity Darren and Sharon developed a wholesale side the business selling to supermarkets and gourmet fruit and vegie stores – allowing their customers to enjoy Kytons products outside of fundraising drives.
• Darren and Sharon also introduced the Larry the Lamington mascot to the business – a fun, lamington with legs, who not only appears regularly in print, but also comes to life at the Royal Adelaide Show and other promotional activities.

A new Brand and the Future

As Kytons entered its 80th year, we thought it was time to give the business’ logo and packaging a fresh new look and after much thought and consideration it was decided to let the kite fly off into history and bring in a clean, crisp black and white country look, with just a little pink to add a little colour and link us to the past.

As we head for our 80th anniversary, Kytons continues to be an iconic SA food brand and to gain market share interstate – a strong, delicious brand ready to carry on for many more decades to come.