Britain's biggest food manufacturer Premier Foods has unveiled a raft of festive twists for its biggest brands in a bid to stop recession-hit consumers switching to cheaper own label equivalents.
A new Winter Warmer selection consisting of apple & cranberry, rhubarb, and plum, pear & cinnamon flavours, is being added to the Mr Kipling range to appeal to shoppers who wanted a change from mince pies.
The company has also revamped its Exceedingly Merry mince pies, which accounted for one in six mince pies bought last Christmas, according to TNS data. It has reformulated the mincemeat filling to make it fruitier and added a fluted pattern to pastry tops.
Premier Foods also manufactures chocolate cake under licence from Cadbury and has redesigned its 10-cake Cadbury Selection Box into a Christmas tree-shape, a move it claims has sparked a 50% sales uplift in the past few weeks. Cadbury Cake Bites, meanwhile, have been put into sharing tubs.
The company has also introduced limited-edition snowy winter graphics to its Ambrosia custard range to boost seasonal sales.
Away from cakes and desserts, Premier Foods is attempting to attract new and younger buyers into the pickle category with a festive red onion & cranberry variant under its Branston banner.
It has also responded to what it describes as "more adventurous consumer tastes" with new wild sage & red onion and apricot & orange Paxo stuffings. A new 75g sachet for smaller servings has also been introduced.
Cash-strapped consumers would stick with the big brands over the festive season, predicted marketing manager Simon Hawkes.
"Despite the credit squeeze, Christmas is the one time of year when people generally refuse to skimp and they revert to the household brands in our portfolio that they know and trust," he said.
The company would be promoting the products under a Christmas Made Easy banner using PoS material and other in-store activity, but there would be no TV or above-the-line campaign, he added.
A new Winter Warmer selection consisting of apple & cranberry, rhubarb, and plum, pear & cinnamon flavours, is being added to the Mr Kipling range to appeal to shoppers who wanted a change from mince pies.
The company has also revamped its Exceedingly Merry mince pies, which accounted for one in six mince pies bought last Christmas, according to TNS data. It has reformulated the mincemeat filling to make it fruitier and added a fluted pattern to pastry tops.
Premier Foods also manufactures chocolate cake under licence from Cadbury and has redesigned its 10-cake Cadbury Selection Box into a Christmas tree-shape, a move it claims has sparked a 50% sales uplift in the past few weeks. Cadbury Cake Bites, meanwhile, have been put into sharing tubs.
The company has also introduced limited-edition snowy winter graphics to its Ambrosia custard range to boost seasonal sales.
Away from cakes and desserts, Premier Foods is attempting to attract new and younger buyers into the pickle category with a festive red onion & cranberry variant under its Branston banner.
It has also responded to what it describes as "more adventurous consumer tastes" with new wild sage & red onion and apricot & orange Paxo stuffings. A new 75g sachet for smaller servings has also been introduced.
Cash-strapped consumers would stick with the big brands over the festive season, predicted marketing manager Simon Hawkes.
"Despite the credit squeeze, Christmas is the one time of year when people generally refuse to skimp and they revert to the household brands in our portfolio that they know and trust," he said.
The company would be promoting the products under a Christmas Made Easy banner using PoS material and other in-store activity, but there would be no TV or above-the-line campaign, he added.
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