RHM invest in 'healthy' Hovis
facelift in a bid to strengthen its position as Britain's
healthiest brand.
RHM, which also produce Mr Kipling cakes, has spent £7m (€10.2m) on recipe improvements to the well-known Hovis range and a new £8m (€11.7m) advertising campaign began on UK television this month.
Overall, the company has spent £20m (€29.3m) on boosting Hovis' position in the market and ensuring that the nutritional benefits of the bread are made known to consumers.
The Hovis Square White and Wholemeal varieties have undergone recipe changes with the square white benefiting from improved texture, whiteness and the wholemeal getting a maltier flavour and thicker slice dimensions.
In addition, there are several new 'premium' products hitting the market such as Hovis Supreme White, Hovis Farmhouse Best of Both and Oatmeal Granary - a mix of malted oats and granary flakes.
A spokesperson for the company said: "Hovis is putting significant investment into encouraging families to reappraise bread as the foundation of a healthy diet. The recipe improvements provide people of all generations with the highest quality bread, and can form a key part of a balanced diet."
Likewise, packaging changes at the brand are designed to fit in with the current trend towards convenience.
According to RHM, 56 per cent of bread spend is now by one or two person households and to target this sector the company have scaled down their White Granary and Country Granary loaves to 400g sizes.
Other changes include new packaging designs with the message that Hovis is healthy at the forefront.
A new logo will carry the message 'something good inside' and the bread bags will be thicker to ensure improved bread quality.
Changes at the brand follow on from efforts to re-energise the Hovis name last year when the company relaunched the range under the claim 'healthiest ever' and emphasized their reduced salt levels, lack of artificial flavourings or preservatives and high whole wheat content.
