Finsbury Food Group launches cake bento box under new brand Little Big Cake

Finsbury Food Group has brought cake bento boxes to UK supermarket shelves for the first time with the launch of its new brand, Little Big Cake.

The cake bento box trend first gained popularity in South Korea around the pandemic, when demand was rising for single-portion mini cakes rather than larger sharable ones. It has since built momentum globally at independent bakeries, especially in online gifting, although usually coming at premium as they are made to order.

Specialist bakery manufacturer Finsbury said it spotted a gap in the market for a bento cake box that shoppers could pick up whilst doing the weekly food shop. It also provides an alternative gifting idea for occasions that call for greeting cards, flowers, chocolate, or wine as the packaging features a gift tag, allowing personalisation.

The first variant of the Instagram-worthy bento box format launched under Finsbury’s new Little Big Cake brand is ‘Paint the Town Red Velvet’. The box contains one big cake (serving eight) featuring a soft, velvety sponge layered with raspberry jam, topped with tangy cream cheese frosting and a flurry of funfetti sprinkles, packed alongside four mini red velvet cupcakes. It is available exclusively at Tesco (rsp: £14, 740g) for the next 12 weeks.

Finsbury said the new brand will grant it the opportunity to respond more quickly to consumer trends and innovate with flavour profiles across the seasons, bringing more excitement to the cake category.

“This launch reinforces Finsbury’s ambition to lead in bakery innovation,” commented Ross Lowrey-Heywood, development innovation manager at Finsbury. “We want to be first to market, bring new ideas to shelves and excite shoppers with products that reflect changing tastes and lifestyles.”

Finsbury brand manager Kimberley Curtis noted a rise in smaller occasion moments among UK consumers. “Whether that’s a well done, a Happy Birthday, a girls’ night in or even a ‘just because’ to brighten an ordinary day,” she said.

“It’s versatile, it’s easy to share at a party or in the office, and it’s even easier to take home thanks to the way it’s portioned. Ultimately, Little Big Cake has been created with shareability, indulgence and spontaneous celebration in mind and our Paint the Town Red Velvet Little Big Cake is just the beginning,” Curtis added.

The cake bento box follows other recent NPD from Finsbury including a half-and-half Wicked celebration cake, a Strawberry & Cream Squashies Celebration Cake, and a Love Hearts Gift Cake. Last August, Finsbury acquired a majority stake in London-based cake specialist Lola’s Cupcakes.