Sales of Babylicious had slumped by almost 30% in the year leading up to the frozen babyfood company's fall into administration, The Grocer can reveal.
Total sales of Babylicious and Kiddylicious frozen meals and baby snacks dropped 29.1% to £346,000 in the year to 5 September, according to data from IRI. Unit sales also dropped considerably by 29.8% to nearly 174,000.
Separate sales data for the Kiddylicious range revealed a 28.1% drop by value to £206,440 and a 34.5% drop in unit sales to nearly 125,000 in the past year.
The data also shows that Babylicious' sales have been struggling for some time, as this year's slump followed on from a 54.9% drop in value sales and a 53.5% drop in volume sales in the year to 6 September 2008. Sales in the year to 8 September 2007 had topped £1m, with unit sales of more than 500,000.
Babylicious was the trading name for Babylicious Limited, which went into administration last month, but the company is continuing to trade after a management buyout under the new name Scream Productions Limited.
Documents from Companies House reveal that following the management buyout Babylicious founder Sally Preston is listed as a director of Scream Productions Limited, together with Tony Hook and Stephen Browne. It is understood the company could transfer back to Babylicious Limited in the near future.
A spokesman for Babylicious claimed sales for its Kiddylicious brand were in growth and said sales for its snacking range were up significantly. He said IRI data did not take into account sales for some outlets, including Ocado, which lists Babylicious. He also claimed the sales figures would have been affected by a number of products having switched from Babylicious branding to Kiddylicious branding in the past year.
Babylicious was launched by Preston in 2002 and she started the Kiddylicious business three years later.
Earlier this month The Grocer revealed that sales of David Beckham's frozen brand GO3 had also disappointed in the past year.
Total sales of Babylicious and Kiddylicious frozen meals and baby snacks dropped 29.1% to £346,000 in the year to 5 September, according to data from IRI. Unit sales also dropped considerably by 29.8% to nearly 174,000.
Separate sales data for the Kiddylicious range revealed a 28.1% drop by value to £206,440 and a 34.5% drop in unit sales to nearly 125,000 in the past year.
The data also shows that Babylicious' sales have been struggling for some time, as this year's slump followed on from a 54.9% drop in value sales and a 53.5% drop in volume sales in the year to 6 September 2008. Sales in the year to 8 September 2007 had topped £1m, with unit sales of more than 500,000.
Babylicious was the trading name for Babylicious Limited, which went into administration last month, but the company is continuing to trade after a management buyout under the new name Scream Productions Limited.
Documents from Companies House reveal that following the management buyout Babylicious founder Sally Preston is listed as a director of Scream Productions Limited, together with Tony Hook and Stephen Browne. It is understood the company could transfer back to Babylicious Limited in the near future.
A spokesman for Babylicious claimed sales for its Kiddylicious brand were in growth and said sales for its snacking range were up significantly. He said IRI data did not take into account sales for some outlets, including Ocado, which lists Babylicious. He also claimed the sales figures would have been affected by a number of products having switched from Babylicious branding to Kiddylicious branding in the past year.
Babylicious was launched by Preston in 2002 and she started the Kiddylicious business three years later.
Earlier this month The Grocer revealed that sales of David Beckham's frozen brand GO3 had also disappointed in the past year.
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