Chocolate-covered snacks, birthday buns, and cakes and doughnuts decorated in well-known animated characters are among the latest sweet bakery launches.
Branded chocolate bars have been adopted into recipes, as has a cake trend from the US, while one innovation looks to resolve an age-old dispute on how to top a scone.
Check out the round-up of sweet NPD from bakery brands below:
Chocolate brownie and flapjack bars, Baker & Baker
Sweet bakery manufacturer Baker & Baker has extended its exclusive licencing partnership with Cadbury owner Mondelēz to launch two new Dairy Milk food-to-go bars in brownie and flapjack variants. The Cadbury Dairy Milk Brownie Bar features a gooey texture and intense chocolatey taste combined with a cocoa base, whilst the Flapjack is chewy and oaty – both are topped with Dairy Milk chocolate.
Available as single-serve meal deal offerings at Morrisons and Tesco (from September), they feature the distinctive purple Cadbury Dairy Milk branding on packs. Baker & Baker noted the range taps into contemporary snacking and on-the-go consumption trends, with the UK retail food-to-go sector expected to grow by 4.5% in terms of CAGR by 2031 [IGD Away From Home UK FTG report, 2026]. Mintel data from 2025 also showed that 66% of consumers would buy a snack bar as part of a meal deal, leading the company to develop its first proposition for the supermarket promotion.
50/50 scone, Costa Coffee
Cream teas appear to be making a comeback, according to Costa, which recently commissioned research conducted by Perspectus Global that found 52% of younger Brits saying the retro treat was finding a whole new audience online. The survey also looked into consumer preferences for the order of applying jam and cream on a scone – 30% had strong feelings on this, 36% were adamant their way is ‘correct’, while 37% admitted they’d judged someone for doing it wrong.
Rather than taking sides, the coffee chain said it had come up with the perfect solution for serving scones, which return to its menu after a five-year hiatus. By using a dual piping bag, it applies a balanced swirl of both jam and cream. The 50/50 scones are available in more than 1,000 selected Costa stores, they can be purchased as part of a new Afternoon Bundle with a regular hot or iced drink (rsp: from £6.49) until the end of October.
Birthday bun, House of Cinn
Inspired by the US trend for ‘dot cakes’ (frosted mini cakes with rainbow nonpareil balls), and marking the fifth anniversary of its partnership with Selfridges, sweet treat brand House of Cinn has unveiled a Dot Cake Birthday Bun.
Available at the Selfridges Food Hall in London until 31 August, the limited-edition buns comprise the brand’s signature cinnamon sugar swirl dough topped with cream cheese frosting and a partial coating of nonpareils.
House of Cinn was founded in 2020 by Itse and David Martos as a Community Interest Company, reinvesting at least 65% of its profits into its social mission.
Pokémon doughnut collection, Krispy Kreme
From 18 August, trainers and doughnut lovers alike can catch the new Pokémon Doughnut Collection at participating Krispy Kreme stores nationwide and online.
This features the following three new options:
- Charmander Doughnut (rsp: from £2.59) – an unglazed shell doughnut with chocolate and toasted marshmallow flavoured filling, dipped in orange coloured caramel icing and sparks of red and gold sugar, topped with a Charmander piece
- Pikachu Doughnut (from £2.59) – an unglazed shell filled with a lemon flavoured cream filling dipped in vanilla icing, decorated with electrifying drizzle and nonpareils, topped with a Pikachu piece
- Jigglypuff Doughnut (from £2.59) – an Original Glazed doughnut piped with strawberry flavoured buttercream, sprinkled with strawberry flavoured cookie, and topped with a Jigglypuff piece.
There’s also a special-edition Pokémon cup (£9.99) filled with 10 10 Original Glazed Gold Bites. Two additional ‘mystery’ Pokémon doughnut varieties are to be released on 7 September.
Minecraft Celebration Cake, Lola’s Cupcakes
Lola’s Cupcakes is bringing the block-built world of the best-selling video game of all time to the party table with the launch of its new Minecraft Celebration Cake.
Available in a choice of vanilla or chocolate sponge layers with buttercream, the cake (rsp: £67.50, serves 14) is decorated with piped green grass frosting and edible sugar characters and items such as Steve, Alex, a Creeper, swords, pickaxes, TNT and a treasure chest.
Finsbury Food Group-owned retail brand and chain Lola’s has continued its strong NPD pipeline during summer with recent launches including a range of Bento cakes and the Cream Tea Scone Cake in celebration of its 20th anniversary.
Mint Club digestives, McVitie’s
Following on from its Jaffa Cake digestives, McVitie’s has created a mashup with another of its branded sweet snacks – the Mint Club biscuit.
Manufacturer Pladis said the latest addition to its McVitie’s Chocolate Digestives range combines the “nostalgic mint flavour” of Mint Club chocolate bars with the “crunchy golden” digestive biscuit. Priced at £2,35 per pack (250g), they are available for a limited time across the Tesco estate, wholesale, and convenience channels.
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