Fresh cakes offer a lucrative opportunity to target those prepared to pay extra for that indulgent treat. Own label has dominated, but two companies have now ventured into the chiller. "This has been a sleeping giant category for some time," says Signature Foods marketing director Sam Teader. "There is a trend towards chilled foods but until now there hasn't been any branded activity." Under the Cadbury banner, Signature Foods launched standard eclairs and choux buns plus ones with Cadbury's Caramel centres in June. The company says its share of the £115m chilled cream cake market by value is equivalent to 3% [TNS: August 2000], and now it has national distribution expects this figure to grow. Rival Entenmann's has a strong foothold in ambient US-style cakes, specialising in limited editions, which are refreshed every 10 to 12 weeks, and low fat variants. It also has three chilled lines ­ New York baked cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake and carrot passion cake. The company says the brand was worth £500K after eight weeks. MD Philip Cross adds: "We've branded them as Entenmann's Ultimate because they are superior to our ambient range. Products in the chiller tend to be fresh cream based with a short shelf life. Ours have a 10-day shelf life." {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}