This article is part of our 2016 Bread & Baked Goods digital feature

Brits spent £34.9m more on own label bread & baked goods over the past year, representing a sales increase of 1.6% on volumes up 5.3% [Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 14 August 2016].

Own label breakfast options, meal accompaniment breads and wrapped loaves lead the charge – only rolls and freshly baked bread saw value fall. All own label sub-categories gained volume sales.

“Own label bread has received renewed focus from several retailers with Tesco revamping their range in February this year, introducing several new lines and increasing the space given over to own label on the fixture,” says Matt Watkins, senior insight manager at Allied Bakeries, which manufactures own label bread and brands such as Kingsmill and Burgen. “The Co-op continue to benefit from their 2015 relaunch, which saw the introduction of a simplified range with Farmhouse & Toastie loaves the focus of the new range.”

Tesco’s revamp didn’t revive its bread sales overall – sales fell 5% – but online sales were up a whopping 19%. The Co-op, on the other hand, saw sales rise 4%. The standout winners though are Aldi and Lidl, which gained 14% and 15% respectively.

Brands, meanwhile, continue to suffer losing £106.6m – the bulk of which was attributed to wrapped bread, sales of which fell 8.5% on volumes down 6.3%.

“The bakery category has suffered from aggressive retailer price wars and the average price per pack for wrapped bread is now 89p,” explains Kantar analyst Ben Morris. “This is the result of everyday low prices and an increase in temporary price reductions, which has been triggered by the success of the discounters.”

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