Branded sweet treats, including Mr Kipling and Cadbury cake ranges, have once again been the main drivers of sales growth at Premier Foods.
In its half-year results for the 26 weeks to 27 September 2025, the St Albans-based manufacturer posted branded revenue of £115.6m from its Sweet Treats division, up 9.4% from the same period in FY24/25.
The second quarter failed to keep pace with the sales growth seen in the first quarter (+11.4%), but still recorded a strong performance with a 7.4% increase on the year prior.
“The Sweet Treats growth reflects the strength of our innovation programme, with notable performances from Mr Kipling Breakfast Bakes, Cadbury Caramel Mini Rolls and the recently launched Mr Kipling cake bites tubs,” commented Premier Foods CEO Alex Whitehouse. “We are particularly pleased with the continuing success of our Mr Kipling birthday cake tarts, with over four million packs sold since launch, as more people take up this US trend.”
Meanwhile, revenue from non-branded sweet treats encountered a further slowdown, falling 7.5% to £17.5m as a result of the company’s contract exits in Swiss rolls, slices, and whirls. Despite this, the division’s total headline revenue maintained growth in H1, increasing by 6.8% to £133.1m. It’s contribution to the group also went up by £2.5m to £14.2m, with contribution margin rising 130 basis points to 10.7%.
Premier Foods noted that the shape of its branded sweet treat revenue growth was split broadly equally between volume and price/mix, with the strong divisional contribution progress due to operational leverage benefits from volume growth.
First launched back in 2022, the Mr Kipling Brownie Bites was highlighted in having delivered another period of double-digit sales growth, which Premier Foods explained was due to them being aligned with the indulgence consumer trend. In addition, the new Mr Kipling cake bites tubs – in six varieties including Cherry Bakewell, Strawberry Bliss, Millionaire’s, Caramel Crispy, Millionaire’s Shortcake, and Double Chocolate – had enjoyed a very strong start since being introduced initially at Tesco stores towards the end of the first half.
Further innovation is planned for the second half, with distribution of Mr Kipling Signature All Butter Mince Pies expanded over Christmas to cover even more retailers than last year.
Whitehouse said Premier Foods had continued to make strong progress across all of its strategic pillars in the first half of the financial year. Its overall headline revenue – which includes from its portfolio of grocery brands like Ambrosia, Batchelors, Bisto, Loyd Grossman, Oxo, and Sharwood’s – showed a slight increase of 0.7% to £502.5m.
While its branded grocery sales dipped by 0.6% to £337.1m, sweet treats kept the overall branded revenue in growth, rising 1.8% to £452.7m. Operating profit for the group was up 11.9% to £73.2m, with statutory pre-tax profit leapt 18.5% to £63.4m.
“Looking forward to the remainder of the year, we expect branded revenue growth to build, supported by both a particularly exciting product innovation programme and increased H2 marketing investment across a broader range of digital communication platforms,” said the CEO, adding that the company expected to invest around £55m this year “which will deliver attractive returns”. Premier Foods recently completed a £2.1m solar farm at its Mr Kipling bakery in Barnsley.
The business said it remains on track to deliver on trading profit expectations for the full year.
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