The Sweet Treats division of Premier Foods enjoyed a “particularly strong Christmas” with Mr Kipling mince pies taking a starring role, shifting 20% more than Q3 in the previous year.
In fact, Mr Kipling delivered its biggest ever quarter as consumers traded up and treated themselves more. Sales of its premium ranges such as Signature Brownie Bites and Signature Mince Pies more than doubled, benefitting from the expanded distribution announced in its first half results.
Premier Foods’ other sweet bakery brand, Cadbury cakes, also made good progress across both its core and seasonal ranges, with the company recently extending the licence it holds with Mondelēz Europe GmbH to manufacture and sell Cadbury cake and ambient desserts through to 2028.
In its Q3 trading update for the 13 weeks ended 28 December 2024, revenue from branded sweet treats rose by 8.9% to £66.5m from £61.1m in Q3 FY23. Non-branded sweet treat sales totalling £38.9m were in line with the same period a year ago.
Premier Foods reported group revenue of £254.7m for its latest third quarter, up by 2% from the £249.6m in Q3 FY23. Once again, branded lines drove growth for the manufacturer, with total sales of £232.4m marking a 3.3% increase from the previous year. Non-branded sales were down by 9.3% to £22.3m.
“We are pleased to report another very good quarter of volume-led branded revenue growth, accompanied by further market share gains, as our branded growth model continues to deliver well for us,” commented Premier Foods CEO Alex Whitehouse.
“We’re now guiding trading profit to the upper end of expectations for this financial year. As we look to the rest of FY24/25 and to the medium term, we expect to deliver further progress as we continue to execute against our five-pillar growth strategy,” he added.
Meanwhile the Fuel10k brand, which was acquired by Premier Foods in October 2023, delivered double-digit sales growth. Multigrain flakes were launched in the period, adding to its strongly performing granola range – it also produces protein-rich ranges of porridge, muffins, cookies, and snack bars aimed at the breakfast market and predominantly appealing to younger consumers.
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