While overall volumes are decreasing by 2%, value may have been inflated by increases in flour prices due to poor wheat harvests following last autumn's floods. This has caused manufacturers to raise their price per loaf, including Allied Bakeries which put up the price of an 800g loaf by 3p in September. While the major multiples such as Asda have been attempting to absorb these extra costs, smaller independent stores have had to protect their margins by adding 4p to 6p to the shelf price. Category growth has been driven by premium-priced new launches within the white bread market. Baked with a proportion of wholemeal flour, these products are now offering the goodness of brown bread with the taste and look of white bread. Kingsmill Whole White and Hovis Best of Both were the most successful new product launches of the year, achieving combined sales of £3.8m so far. Their launches in July were backed by a high-profile marketing campaign. Square cut loaves continue to grow in the white bread sector, featuring in three of the top five products. This points towards convenience, as square cut loaves are easier to use when making sandwiches and toast. In particular, Hovis has almost doubled sales of its square cut offering. Kingsmill remains the bestselling brand overall, although the next largest brand, Hovis, is growing significantly faster, at 18%. This is partly due to a £7m above and below the line campaign which relaunched the Hovis brand in June. A new slogan Get something good inside' has been adopted by Hovis to promote bread as a healthy alternative to junk food, emphasised by cartoon characters Harry Hovis and his family. Distinctive packaging has also helped Hovis stand out. Although growth in the morning goods market has slowed, the bagels market seems to have turned itself around from its 9% decline last year to a growth of 7% this year. New York Bagels remains the most popular product, achieving 3% growth. Warburtons, meanwhile, has continued to experience value growth for its rolls, with its crumpets also growing in popularity, at more than 50%. Sunblest crumpets have also achieved a stronghold in the market this year, now appearing at no.9 in the bagels and morning goods market. {{P&P }}

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