Premier Foods posts robust figures as consumers shift back to brands

Premier Foods, the owner of Mr Kipling and Bisto, has posted robust first-quarter trading figures on the back of strong branded sales growth after making moves to win back shoppers from own-label alternatives.

Premier Foods highlighted that several of its grocery brands delivered substantial growth, with Nissin and The Spice Tailor both being standout performers. Revenue in grocery division increased by 7.1 per cent to £179.4m, with branded sales growing by 8.6 per cent to £161.9m.

Meanwhile, new categories revenue increased by 68 per cent after its Ambrosia Porridge pots range gained share in the breakfast category. Angel Delight ice cream was also boosted by the launch of a handheld format.

Meanwhile, non-branded Grocery revenue declined by 5.1 per cent £17.5m, owing to consumers switching back to brands and some contract exits.

In the group’s Sweet Treats division, sales edged up up a bit. The group noted that in-store execution drove growth of its Mr Kipling and Cadbury cakes brands, supported by product innovation. Non-branded Sweet Treat sales were down 16.0 per cent to £8.0m.

Meanwhile, Premier Foods saw strong overseas sales, up 24 per cent, after the rollout of new lines in North America, Germany and Australia.

Chief Executive Alex Whitehouse, “During the quarter, we have gained both value and volume market share in Grocery and Sweet Treats, as more shoppers bought more of our leading brands, delivering good volume growth across our categories,” said

“As we look forward to the rest of the year, we have a strong set of marketing and product innovation plans for our brands in the UK and Ireland, while we continue to build distribution internationally. We expect to see more volume-led branded sales growth in the coming quarters, further progress overseas and our expectations for the full year remain unchanged.”