Sales at bread makers Warburtons have taken a hit as shoppers ditch bread in favour of low-carb diets.
Loaves sold at the family bakers have fallen for a third year running, according to documents filed with Companies House.
Sales dropped 3.5% to £506 million from September 2017-18, while profit slumped from £20.7million the previous year to a pre-tax loss of £13.5million.
The firm has attributed this to a “continuing decline in the core market” as well as some one-off restructuring costs.
And consumer experts claim the bread market is shrinking with growing numbers opting for gluten-free or low-carb diets.
“Bread is in long-term decline,” said Aimee Benson, consumer insight director at market research firm Kantar.
“The industry is trying to reinvigorate, adding seeds and looking at bagels or wraps, but it’s still not really saving the category.
“More and more people are choosing gluten-free options, perhaps buying bread less frequently or choosing to remove bread from their diets altogether.”
The £1.5 billion wrapped bread market has been falling steadily for the past five years, according to the consumer expert.
While the market for ‘free from’ products is growing and is now estimated to be worth £2.2billion.
Warburtons is said to be hoping its new bagel and wrap categories can help tide declining sales, with Robert De Niro fronting their latest ad campaign.
The 75-year-old Goodfellas star visits Bolton in Warburton’s two-minute commercial, which features the Hollywood legend playing a New York ‘bagel boss’.
It is not known how much it cost to get the Oscar winner onboard for the ad, which the bakers said was “the biggest campaign we’ve ever had”.
De Niro’s appearance follows that of Rocky legend Sylvester Stallone, who starred in an £18 million campaign for the bakers in 2015.
The Muppets and comedian Peter Kay have also appeared in commercials for the bakers.
In their annual accounts the company said the losses were due to £19.6 million of one-time only restructuring costs as well as the sales decline.
These include the closure of its Stockton Bakery due to excess capacity.
Jonathan Warburton, chairman of Warburtons, said: “The wrapped bakery market continues to be very challenging and this, coupled with increased costs and some exceptional items, impacted our results for the 2017/2018 financial year.
"Excluding the exceptional costs, the underlying business remains profitable. During the same period, we also invested significantly to ensure we are well placed for long-term growth.”
