United Biscuits is ploughing more than £10m into major launches including McVitie's Digestives, Go Ahead!, McCoy's, KP and The McVitie's Cake Company brands from January.

With health the key focus, UB is introducing Go Ahead! Wholemeal, a range of lower-fat boxed and bagged snacks. The range comes in three savoury flavours as Baked Snaps and two sweet flavours as Fruit Bakes bars. The launch will be supported with a £3m ad campaign and in-store with a half-price promotion.

The McVitie's Cake Company is also getting in on wholemeal with a Wholesense range of cake loaves. Made from wholemeal flour and with a high fruit content, the range is intended to add a "positive nutritious dimension" to the category. The Flapjacks range is also being rebranded as Yogjacks and Oatjacks.

The relaunch of McVitie's Digestives will be the biggest piece of activity, with a new pack design, in-store promotions and a £4m TV campaign from February. The aim is to highlight the use of wholemeal and wheat in the biscuits.

As well as launching a mini bagged version of the biscuit, it is adding a healthier sub-brand, its first organic range, McVitie's Yumbles in February.

"Healthy eating is no longer a fashionable trend in the UK, it's a way of life and we as a business have to evolve accordingly," said Alice Cadman, head of strategic projects at UBUK.

Following the healthier theme, UB is also launching a premium sub-brand under the KP umbrella, called Baked & Seasoned. The three-flavour range is designed to introduce more younger adults to the category and will be supported by a £2m spend.

Variants and pack sizes will be added to McCoy's crisps from February. Its limited-edition Takeaways range will include flavours such as Chicken Curry and Chinese Sweet & Sour Ribs. The launch will be supported as part of its £2m 'Man Crisps' campaign.

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