On-trend pistachio croissants, makeup-themed doughnuts, and Biscoff sauce drizzled pretzel bites are among the latest sweet innovations unveiled by UK bakery brands.
Some are looking to awaken taste buds upon the arrival of spring or help celebrate Ramadan, while new pancakes, cake bars, and cake slices have all been designed with kids lunchboxes in mind.
Check out more details on the raft on sweet bakery NPD below:
Biscoff Nuggets, Auntie Anne’s
These limited-edition sweet and salty treats offer a twist on the chain’s pretzel range through a collaboration with the spiced caramel biscuit brand Biscoff. The soft pretzel bites – which are hand-rolled and freshly baked onsite – are drizzled with Biscoff sauce and finished with crunchy Biscoff crumbs.
They are being sold at Auntie Anne’s 42 outlets across the UK and Ireland from 27 March to 18 May. On the back of a record year of growth, the company revealed it was targeting 100 new stores in the region within the next decade.
Biscoff owner Lotus Bakeries has also enjoyed rapid growth in recent years, with UK sales leaping almost a fifth (19.7%) year-on-year in 2023. Its strategic partnership with Mondelēz International announced last year has led to a co-branded Cadbury Dairy Milk and Biscoff bar launched earlier this month.
Pistachio croissants, Bridor
Tapping into the long-lasting pistachio trend, French bakery supplier Bridor has unveiled a new pistachio-filled croissant for hospitality and foodservice operators. Made with Bridor’s signature pure butter puff pastry recipe, it has a smooth and meltingly soft pistachio centre with a chopped pistachio topping for added crunch.
The 85g croissants are supplied frozen in boxes of 50 pieces, and require defrosting for 45-60 mins before baking for around 18 mins. “Pistachio pastries and sweet treats are becoming increasingly popular on social media as the vibrant green colour makes for an Instagram-worthy photo opportunity,” commented Erwan Inizan, Northern Europe sales director at Bridor. “We are confident that our newest offering will help drive sales for our customers.”
Earlier this month, Bridor debuted a new range of vegan Viennese pastries to tap into demand for plant-based items, including a pain au chocolat, two croissants, and three filled pastry crowns.
Choc Chip Pancakes, Brioche Pasquier
Family-owned French firm Brioche Pasquier has rolled out a new Choc Chip version of its pancakes, available in packs of eight at Morrisons stores and via Ocado (rsp: £2.10). Like with the original pancakes, they are twin wrapped to make it easy to pop into a bag, pocket, or lunchbox.
The pancakes are baked with fresh eggs and milk and offer Brioche Pasquier’s usual long shelf life of up to 24 days, despite being free from preservatives, artificial flavours and colours. In addition, the Choc Chips come from Rainforest Alliance Chocolate.
Vegan buttermilk doughnuts, Crosstown
Gourmet doughnut brand Crosstown has teamed up with NYX Professional Makeup to launch a new Vegan Buttermilk doughnut range inspired by the radiant skin craze.
Available in Toffee or Whipped Buttermilk flavours, the doughnuts (rsp: £3.95) are comprised of Crosstown’s signature vegan sourdough hand-dipped in a high-shine, dewy mirror glaze, which is said to reflect the hydrating qualities of NYX’s Buttermelt Glaze Skin Tint range. They are being sold online and at Crosstown locations in London, Cambridge, and Oxford until the end of March.
“This is the second of many tantalising collabs we plan to bring our customers this year to keep pushing the boundaries of taste, texture and flavour innovation,” said Crosstown’s new CEO Jo Blundell, referring to their partnership with Candy Kittens on the Eton Mess doughnut for Valentine’s Day 2025.
Free-from cookies, Doughlicious
The cookie dough specialist has made its first venture into the ambient on-the-go snacking category with new gluten-free, vegan soft-baked cookie range, in flavours of Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate Chip, Salted Caramel, and Banana Good Granola.
The individually wrapped cookies (rsp £1.99 | 82g) are available from Ocado, Go Puff, Deliveroo, Zapp, Amazon, Whole Foods Market, British Airways, LNER trains, and the Hunts Food Group. Powered by oats, they are HFSS compliant and high in protein (17g per cookie) as well as being a source of fibre and vitamins D and E.
Doughlicious is better known for its Cookie Dough & Gelato Bites range, which recently saw a limited edition tie-up with Walkers on an Extra Flamin’ Hot version. The company attracted £3.5m in investment last year to support its expansion in the US.
Do you think your new bakery product is the best in the nation?
Then be sure to enter the Baking Industry Awards 2025. There are 15 categories to choose from including New Bakery Product of the Year as well as the brand-new Supplier of the Year and returning Team of the Year.
Now in its 38th year, the awards recognise talent, innovation, and dedication as it celebrates the best people, products, and businesses the industry has to offer.
Entries are now open and cost £85 plus VAT with the exception of Rising Star and Outstanding Contribution to the Baking Industry, which are free to enter. The entry deadline for all categories is Monday 28 April – to enter the awards, or for more information, visit www.bakeryawards.co.uk.
Finalists will be revealed on BritishBaker.co.uk in August, with winners announced at a black-tie ceremony on Thursday 23 October at the Royal Lancaster in London.
Strawberry Flavour Party Rings, Fox’s Burton’s Companies
This limited-edition flavour forms part of a brand refresh of the Fox’s Party Rings range that is currently underway and includes new “colour me in” packaging.
With a creamy taste, the strawberry variant (rsp: 90p | 125g pack) is said to have been designed to “engage and excite customers as well as bring in new users, with a particular focus on attracting families”. Fox’s noted that strawberry was named the number one flavour across all family age groups, with 85% purchase intent [Kantar data, 24w to 14 December 23].
Penguin Milkshake Cake Bars, McVitie’s
Pladis-owned brand McVitie’s has launched two new milkshake variants – strawberry and chocolate – of its original Penguin Cake Bar. The strawberry version features a chocolatey cake bar topped with strawberry milkshake flavoured cream and covered in milk chocolate, while the chocolate one employs chocolate milkshake flavoured cream instead. Available in packs of five (rsp: £1.75) at Morrisons stores from today (24 March) before a wider roll out at UK retailers, the cake bars are individually wrapped for convenience as an on-the-go or lunchbox treat.
“We have introduced what we know are two popular milkshake flavours to our cake bars, and they performed particularly well in testing, where 69% of consumers found Penguin Milkshake concept to be unique and 81% expressed strong interest in trying and purchasing it,” commented Pladis UK&I brand manager Zeynep Daghan Erol, referring to Wirral Sensory Services data from August 2024.
Penguin chocolate bars were first produced in 1932 by Glasgow-based biscuit manufacturer William McDonald, which was bought by United Biscuits in 1965 and subsequently acquired by Yildiz Holding in 2014 (now part of Pladis).
Non-HFSS cake slices, Mr Kipling’s
A new Lunchbox Cake Slices range in flavours of raspberry, banana, and chocolate orange has been unveiled by Mr Kipling. The cake slices have a light and fluffy sponge made with real fruit, with a drizzle of icing on top.
Sold in four packs (rsp: £1.65) – first at Asda and Morrisons before in wider grocery at selected stores – they offer less than 100 calories per slice and, as a source of fibre, are billed as not high in fat, salt and sugar (non-HFSS).
Mr Kipling, which is owned by manufacturer Premier Foods, said it had identified an opportunity to drive further growth by targeting more lunchbox occasions. It pointed to Kantar data on ambient packaged cake (52 w/e 29 December 2024) which found that carried out cake occasions grew 3% on last year, with packed lunches accounting for 63% of these moments and increasing 14% year on year.
Ramadan Sweet Treats Box, Paul UK
Bakery chain Paul UK is looking to sweeten Iftar and Eid celebration this month with an assortment of French patisserie goodies that are ideal for sharing.
The Ramadan Sweet Treats Box (rsp: £45) includes two mini dark chocolate praline craquants, two mini Fraisier cakes, ten light and crispy chouquettes, ten mini chocolate beignets, and a dozen macarons in flavours of raspberry, chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, coffee, and lime.
The selection box is available for click & collect orders to all Paul UK stores across London, Reading, and Oxford until 31 March.
Zingy Lemon Eclairs, The Delicious Dessert Company
These brand-new Zesty Lemon Eclairs have hit Tesco shelves, just as 51% of Brits say they’re craving that “citrus joy” as the sun returns, according to The Delicious Dessert Company’s consumer research.
Available in packs of two (rsp: £2.50), they are filled with smooth lemon curd and cream, and topped with white chocolate icing and vibrant yellow lacing. The research also showed a clear seasonal shift away from winter comfort flavours like sticky toffee (33%) and dark chocolate (30%) toward fresher, fruit-forward options. Other éclair flavours on The Delicious Dessert Company’s range include Sticky Toffee, Triple Chocolate, and Blonde Chocolate, and it also came out with limited-edition Love You Straw Berry Much Eclairs for Valentine’s Day.
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