Focus on Cakes and Biscuits: 21 September

Focus On: Cakes and Biscuits

By Megan Tatum wordsbymegantatum@gmail.com 

Publishing: 21 September 2024

Advertising deadline: 6 September 2024

Submissions deadline: 30 August 2024

Print, digital and sponsorship opportunities

Brits are gobbling up more cakes and biscuits – despite HFSS rules limiting in-store visibility of most sugary treats. Even higher prices haven’t killed sweet-toothed shoppers’ appetites. Biscuits appear to be encroaching on other snack items, as some consumers ditch chocolate bars for chocolate biscuits. Meanwhile, smaller format cakes are venturing into mid-afternoon pick-me-up territory. So, is the snack opportunity growing for cakes and biscuits? How are retailers and suppliers tapping the trend? And how much growth is possible for the category.

Snack appeal: Which cake and biscuit brands are innovating, and what occasions – and which demographics – are they trying to draw in? How are they signalling their versatility to consumers? When are they being consumed? Who is buying them?

Biscuit innovations: With a flurry of NPD in the last year, there’s a wealth of new biscuits to choose from. Which flavours are dominating? Are more healthy biscuits helping to tap the snack trend? And with all the chocolate biscuits around, are chocolate biscuits the new chocolate bars?

Mini cakes: Cakes have traditionally enjoyed a core audience of older consumers. But with the launch of smaller, single-serve products including handheld cakes and cake bars, can the category catch the fancy of younger shoppers?

Own label vs branded: How is the dynamic between own label and branded shifting in cakes and biscuits?

HFSS: Two years since the legislation, is the shakedown in cakes and biscuits over? How has it informed innovation? Is it hampering sales growth? What health challenges are next?

Innovations – cakes: Identify four new premium products or product ranges that have ideally not appeared in The Grocer before. Supply details, including launch date and rsp, and a hi-res picture.

Innovations – biscuits: Identify four new premium products or product ranges that have ideally not appeared in The Grocer before. Supply details, including launch date and rsp, and a hi-res picture.