Warmer weather dampened demand for gravy and soup in recent months, but US-inspired sweet treats attracted new consumers, food producer Premier Foods has revealed.
The St Albans-based owner of brands including Mr Kipling and Bisto said there were signs of shoppers switching back to brands.
Branded sales across the group grew by 1.2% to £216 million over the 13 weeks to June 28, compared with the same period a year ago.
This was driven by an 11.34% jump in sales of its sweet treat branded products including Mr Kipling and Cadbury cakes.
Mr Kipling birthday cake tarts, inspired by snack trends in the US, and newly launched “lunchbox” cake slices helped draw in new shoppers, the company said.
Chief executive Alex Whitehouse said the uptick in branded sales was “driven by the strength of our innovation programme with new product ranges such as Mr Kipling birthday cake tarts performing very strongly, as we brought to Britain a trend that is particularly popular in the US”.
“We expect branded revenue growth to build through the year, as we launch further new products, such as Fuel10K yoghurt and granola pots,” he added.
However, revenues from its grocery products declined by 2.7% over the latest period.
Demand for items such as gravy, stock and soup were impacted by warmer-than-usual temperatures, Premier Foods said.
It pointed to new product launches such as The Spice Tailor rolling out Mexican kits and Bisto bringing out peri-peri gravy to attract more younger consumers.
Meanwhile, non-branded grocery revenues declined by 8.8% year-on-year, which Premier Foods said partly reflected consumers switching to brands.
Premier Foods said it was expecting sales growth from its portfolio of brands to build throughout the financial year.
It is also continuing to target cost-cutting across the business in a bid to bolster profits.
Shares in the company were down by nearly 4% on Thursday following the update.
