Pepper and salt are in the thick of the condiments boom. Influenced by celebrity chefs, consumers are trading up to bigger pack sizes of whole black pepper to fill their pepper grinders, says British Pepper & Spice. It's resulted in whole black pepper sales rising from £7m in 1997 to £8.5m this year. As consumers become more discerning, they're buying more premium salt, such as sea, rock and low-sodium varieties. One of the fastest growing low sodium brands is Solo from the Low Sodium Sea Salt Co. It's made from Icelandic mineral salt by a process that evaporates 60% of the harmful' sodium. As well as the original fine grain format, it now comes in coarse grain for use in salt mills. Rising demand for lower fat products has led Vandemoortele to introduce Belolive, a premium olive oil mayonnaise which it is claimed has 60% less fat than standard products. The four variants ­ roasted garlic, sun-dried tomato, pesto, plus original ­ fit the growing trend for Mediterranean style cuisine. Euro Food Brands says its Saladays dressings, which include lemon vinaigrette and garlic & herb, have become year round products. Best-seller is coleslaw dressing, a permanent fixture on Tesco's shelves for five years. Capitalising on the growing popularity of roasted vegetables, it has introduced the Italian Coelsanus antipasto range in sunflower oil and wine vinegar. Provence Salad, a mix of olives, peppers, gherkins and capers in vinegar, has been added to the French Maitre Provi brand in response to consumer demand for mixed variety pickles, says Distributor Food Masters. Rsp is £1.20 for 200g jar. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}