Big four
St Pierre has launched a new pack size of its Brioche Burger Buns – now available in a six and a four-pack format – to appeal to a wider demographic. It has also secured new listings, meaning its products can now be found be found on shelves in Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda stores across the UK.
Chris McLaughlin, commercial director at St Pierre Groupe, said, “We are delighted to reach this milestone and see our St Pierre products on shelf in all four of the UK’s biggest multiple retailers. St Pierre offers exceptional quality and taste, and in partnership with our retailers, we have been able to help consumers elevate their everyday meal occasions with our delicious range of brioche.”
St Pierre – the flagship brand of St Pierre Groupe – is America’s leading brioche seller, a ‘winner’ in the UK and was recently launched in the Middle East. The brand cemented its position as the UK’s best-tasting brioche in independent sensory hall tests in January. St Pierre is also the UK’s number one brand in burger buns and hot dogs, delivering £12m to the category.
With a global retail sales value in excess of $250m, St Pierre Groupe has doubled its headcount in the last 18 months, appointed David Milner as CEO and opened its first US headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.
McLaughlin added, “The branded burger bun and hot dog category has now reached £38mn, with growth of 180% in the past two years. Working with our retailers to see how we can help continue to grow the category, we developed a smaller four-pack of our best-selling Brioche Burger Buns to meet our consumers needs and deliver in-store and on shelf.”
Rooting for health
Two indulgent, but guilt-free options have been added to the Rootles range of chocolate-covered, veg-based biscuits. At the same time, the brand has been launched in nearly 100 Asda stores across the UK, as part of the supermarket’s Nurture incubator programme.
Believed to be the only veg-based sweet snack bar on the market, Rootles are crunchy biscuits made with 35% root veg and smothered in chocolate. The biscuits are naturally sweetened by veg like carrot and sweet potato, and each pack packs in fewer calories (121) than many other chocolate snack bars.
The first option – which is vegan – comprises a carrot biscuit covered in dark chocolate, while the second release contains a biscuit naturally flavoured by beetroot and smothered in white chocolate.
Brand developer Helen Yates, who co-runs Luke Evans Bakery in Riddings in Derbyshire with her husband David, said, “We have developed the vegan option to satisfy the growing demand for dairy-free sweet products and this now replaces our original dark chocolate Rootles. The white chocolate and beetroot Rootles is a completely new concept, combining an appealing taste and look. We feel sure it will go down well with our growing band of customers.
“We’re excited to have launched Rootles into Asda – it’s our first major supermarket listing and represents a significant step forward for the brand.”
Yates recently received funding from Mission Ventures and the Good Food Fund, which identified Rootles as a winning healthy snack to help fight obesity. She will also receive support and mentorship from Asda’s experts under its Nurture programme.
Emma Swan, buying manager for Emerging Suppliers at Asda, said, “We’re always pleased to support smaller suppliers and get innovative products into the hands of our customers. In Rootles we found something that we had never seen before and are excited to offer them a space on our shelves as part of the Nurture programme.”
Rootles have a RRP of £1.19 per 27g pack.
Pizza time
Crosta & Mollica has added a plant-based Vegana Pizza and Pizzetta to its expanding range, available in retailers across the UK.
Continuing to capitalise on the growing taste for Italian food, Crosta & Mollica aims to provide an authentic alternative for modern plant-based diets while staying true to its Italian roots.
The Vegana Pizza starts with the brand’s signature sourdough base, crafted in traditional Neapolitan style, proved for 24 hours before being fired in a wood oven, on lava stone from Mount Etna in Sicily.
This is covered with a tomato and caramelised balsamic onion sauce, and hand-topped with IGP Tropea red onions, grilled mushrooms and broccolini. The pizza is topped with a creamy chickpea sauce, along with a scattering of rosemary, sea salt and olive oil (taking inspiration from the Ligurian chickpea pancake Farinata).
The vegan pizza can also be purchased Pizzetta-style, offering two smaller-sized portions per pack, available from Ocado and Waitrose for an RRP of £4.75.
You can't stop the change, any more than you can stop the suns from setting
Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes has collaborated with Lucasfilm to celebrate the highly anticipated new Star Wars limited series, Obi-Wan Kenobi only on Disney+ (starting 27 May 27) by bringing both cereal and Star Wars fans a new way to embrace their inner light or dark side.
Grab your lightsaber spoon and tuck into a double take of fan-favourites in one bowl.
Only when you pour bowl of the cereal will you discover if you’re destined to join the Force or give in to the dark side. It all comes down to what’s in your bowl – Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes or Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Chocolate
“For decades, Star Wars has united fans across generations for movie nights and we look forward to doing the same at the breakfast table with the release of our new Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Obi-Wan Kenobi cereal,” said Sadie Garcia, director of Brand Marketing at Kellogg All Family Cereal.
The limited edition Star Wars packaging even features Tony the Tiger sporting his best Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader attire in honour of the upcoming series.
Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Obi-Wan Kenobi cereal will be available at retailers across the US starting in July for an RRP of $4.29 for a 10.7oz box and $5.29 for a 17.1oz box.
In addition, fans can visit Walmart online to get their hands on an exclusive Star Wars and Obi-Wan Kenobi-inspired mystery box of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes. These boxes will feature special packaging, with one side representing the light side and the other representing the dark side of the force.
May the Force be with you
The Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series stars Ewan McGregor, reprising his role as the iconic Jedi Master.
The story begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat – the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.
The series also marks the return of Hayden Christensen in the role of Darth Vader. Joining the cast are Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie.
Get your five a day
Pack’d – popular ACK'D, the brand known for its Superfood Smoothie Kits – has extended its Pack’d Heart land range with Organic Orchard Fruit and Organic Tropical Fruit – both perfect for blending and baking.
The brand has also launched a frozen organic veg range, that offers a great solution for health conscious, time-poor consumers.
The new SKUs include Spinach (in chopped loose leaf instead of blocks); Sweet potato; Cauliflower rice (purportedly the first organic version to enter the frozen category); Petit pois; and Sweetcorn.
The new SKUs will launch as part of the brand’s wider redesign, which has sustainability at its core. The full range is now be available in 100% FSC-approved fully recyclable cardboard boxes. Pack’d has also removed 20% of the packaging from its smoothie kit sachets.
“As the brand has grown, we have built a loyal consumer base for our fruits and smoothies, and adding frozen, organic vegetables to these offerings has always been something we have wanted to do,” said founder Alex Stewart.
“We are particularly proud to be the first fully organic frozen vegetable range, a shake up for the category, and a great solution for the consumer.
“We have always strived to minimise waste and have sustainability at the heart of what we do at Pack’d, and so we are delighted to launch the new products alongside a packaging refresh. The fully recyclable cardboard boxes demonstrate our commitment to being more sustainable, but also the redesign brings a warmer vibe to the frozen aisle. We have some way to go on our sustainability journey, but this is a huge step in the right direction. We are a brand on a mission.”
Available at select retailers across the UK – including Sainsbury’s Morrisons, Amazon Fresh and Ocado – the Pack’d Organic Veg has a RRP of 450g £3.30 per 450g pack, while the Fruit Mixes have an RRP of £4.30/300g.
Nutty about this
Dewey’s Bakery has created an extraordinarily thin Peanut Butter Cookie, the sixth indulgent variety to join the bakery’s existing portfolio, including Triple Ginger, Meyer Lemon, Brownie Crisp, Toasted Coconut and Salted Caramel.
Crafted from real-ingredients at its bakery in Winston-Salem, NC, Dewey’s new Peanut Butter cookies are made from rich, creamy peanut butter, bits of fresh-roasted peanuts and a sprinkling of salt. Each cookie is made without artificial ingredients, preservatives or synthetic colours, but still packed with flavour – and low in calorie count (15-16 calories per cookie).
The cookies can also be incorporated into recipes to add a pop of peanut butter and crunchy texture.
Availability in select retail stores across the US, the cookies are packed in 8.5oz boxes and 3.25oz pouches of minis for an RRP of $4.49 and $3.49, respectively.
Whistle while you work
Kate’s Real Food is making the back-to-office commute a eagerly-awaited moment to ramp up energy for the day with delish energy bars and bites.
So, whether you are driving, walking, taking the bus or train or flying to work, this is a snack that will provides long-lasting and sustainable energy.
Available in eight variants – Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate; Dark Chocolate Cherry & Almond; Peanut Butter Hemp & Flax; Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate; Oatmeal Cranberry & Almond; Dark Chocolate Mint; Lemon Coconut; and, Mango Coconut – the snacks are USDA-certified organic, certified gluten-free, certified non-GMO, certified kosher and soy-free.
They also contain healthy fats and protein (such as dark chocolate and almonds), along with good sources of healthy sugars to keep energy levels up. Best of all, they are portable and light, but filling.
Available online and from select retailers across the US.
