Baker Street extends festive range

Baker Street, the extended-life bakery brand, has extended its seasonal range for 2021, after 2020’s launch sales surpassed the £1 million mark.

Last year, Baker Street Stollen Loaves and Marzipan Stollen Bites achieved sales in excess of £1.4m – with more than 60 per cent of the revenue driven by the innovative Stollen Bites format.

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Buoyed by early success, the brand is now launching an expanded range, adding Apple Stollen Bites, Stollen Cookies and Chocolate & Orange Cake Truffles to its Christmas-markets-inspired selection.

Chris McLaughlin, Commercial Director at St Pierre Groupe, which owns the Baker Street brand, explains, “Ahead of launch last year, research showed almost 50 per cent of consumers buy Stollen over the Christmas period, so the opportunity was clear.

“Whilst 53 per cent buy Stollen to enjoy with friends or family at home, 30 per cent buy it as a snack for themselves with more than half (51 per cent) saying Stollen is perfect for an afternoon snack. We developed a range to cater to these occasions, with traditional loaves and innovative Stollen Bites designed for snacking or sharing.

“Christmas offers an opportunity for indulgence. With consumers set to be reunited this season, we’re extending the Baker Street range to offer more options for ‘festive snacking’.”

In the four weeks to Christmas, the cake category grows from £101m to £143mn (42 per cent). Stollen offers a quick-win for retailers; growing from nothing in the nine months to October into a significant sub-category. It’s this opportunity that Baker Street will build on for 2021.

McLaughlin adds, “Products that offer something new will be popular and Baker Street’s NPD is designed to help retailers capitalise on emerging consumer trends. Our new Stollen Cookies are a testament to that; by combining the lovely Christmas taste of traditional Stollen with a familiar Cookie format, it offers consumers an ‘easy’ way to try something new.

“The top three attributes shoppers look for in food and drink gifts are quality (65 per cent), authenticity (41 per cent) and attractive packaging (39 per cent), which stands us in good stead. Each product is made with authentic ingredients to a traditional recipe and packaged in Baker Street’s stand-out festive branding.”

Stollen is a Christmas menu staple; last year one in six Brits were planning to eat Stollen and the market is worth a cool £18m, but the Baker Street range has been designed to cater to more exploratory palettes.

The appeal for retailers is two-fold; shoppers who already enjoy Stollen will enjoy trying a classic in a new bite format, whilst those who haven’t opted for the traditional German cake before, might prefer to be introduced to it in a more familiar form.

McLaughlin continues, “There are flavours that are perennially popular during the festive season and this year, Baker Street has added Chocolate & Orange Cake Truffles to its range, providing opportunities to tap into both the gifting market and the snacking occasion thanks to its multi-pack format.

“Baker Street caters to consumers looking for convenient quality; the whole range ticks the boxes for quality and authenticity, so whether it’s picked up as a last-minute offering to take round to a friend, left out as festive nibbles for guests, or bought as an indulgent treat for solo-snacking, Baker Street is always there, ready to be enjoyed.”

“The expanded range will be supported throughout Q4 with in-store promotions, branded shippers offering in-store standout, a dedicated social media campaign and consumer-facing PR activity. Throughout the season, all Baker Street brand touchpoints will adopt the Christmas-market-themed creative to assist in building brand awareness for the range. There are already plans to extend the Baker Street offering again next year, so all marketing activity is being developed in line with future plans.”

Baker Street Marzipan Stollen Loaf 200g (RRP £2) and Baker Street Marzipan Stollen Bites (RRP £3.50) are available at selected Co-Op, Nisa, Booker and convenience stores nationwide, and Baker Street Stollen Loaf 500g (RRP £3) will be available from Booker.