The industry is driving forward indulgent NPD to bring crumbs of comfort for the market Tasty, crusty, organic innovations have already made their mark, as shown in ACNielsen's new product monitor highlighting the bestselling brands since April 2000. The wrapped bread top 10 shows how the added value, premium products have the purchase power, while more than half the newcomers which have made it into the top 10 morning goods are fruited products. Own label's domination of the ready to bake sector isn't in doubt. It has an 85% share fuelled by the premium retailer brands such as Sainsbury's Taste the Difference and Tesco Finest, with flavoursome Mediterranean style offerings such as caramelised garlic and rosemary focaccia and four cheese focaccia, and a raft of stuffed ciabattas. But this stranglehold has been challenged by Warburtons' new range of continental style ready-to-bake flat breads and tear and share rolls. These are currently getting strong backing from Asda which has given it its own standalone display. Although branded ready-to-bake has been attempted before ­ twice by Allied Bakeries ­ Warburtons is confident that its Bake & Share products will make their mark because it's what younger, more affluent consumers are now demanding. Market conditions are right for a branded offering, says business development director Roz Cuschieri, and it will sit comfortably alongside retailer brands. Another move by manufacturers to increase bread usage is to introduce more varieties into meal kits. For a long time, Mexican has dominated this type of product, and although it is still a force with major brands such as Pillsbury's Old El Paso, opportunities are opening up for other nationalities to grab a piece of the action. One of these is Patak's which is hoping to woo more consumers to chapattis with a tikka masala wrap kit. Each kit contains wholemeal chapattis, tikka masala paste, plus portions of tomato relish and mint raita to make a wrap meal for two. Pride Valley Foods' npd plans concentrate on snacking products based around wraps including tortillas, wholemeal chapattis, and khoubz, a large pitta style bread. This summer it will also be targeting health conscious consumers with lavash bread, a low fat wrap which originates from the Middle East. But the fruity trend continues and Irwin's Bakery's new lines have combined snacking with indulgence for an innovative line in scones. These are cake like scones which already contain strawberry jam. Tesco has snapped these up for its Anywhere Snacks range. The multiple has also added Irwin's new sultana and apricot scones to its Finest range. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}

Topics