Spicy pies, indulgent pastries, white pizza bases, and brunch-style quiches are among the recent savoury bakery launches.
Several of the innovations have been developed with trends in mind – such as high-protein and flavours from Mediterranean and Mexican cuisines – looking to bring younger consumers into bakery categories.
Check out the raft of new creations satisfying savoury cravings below:
Mediterranean pastries, Bridor
A trio of new savoury pastries have been added to the portfolio of frozen bakery supplier Bridor, all with a ratio of 72% pastry to 28% filling.
Two are in the Delice format, which is made with a leavened puff pastry for a crispy crust – the Goat’s Cheese & Tomato Delice and the Feta & Spinach Delice. The other is a Pesto Swirl, a buttery puff pastry spiral with an indulgent filling of cheese and basil pesto. All weighing in at 100g each, the pastries are sold in 60-piece cases (64 cases to a pallet).
“We are seeing strong momentum behind savoury pastries, which are the second fastest growing food-to-go type by volume in the UK [Kantar data, 52 w/e 1 September 2024],” commented Erwan Inizan, Northern Europe sales director at Bridor. “By bringing together proven Mediterranean flavour combinations with a robust ready-to-bake format, we are giving operators a simple way to premiumise their savoury offer and capture sales from early morning to late afternoon.”
Pizza base, pinsa and pizzas, Crosta Mollica
Crosta Mollica has expanded its chilled and frozen range with six new products rolling out across Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Ocado.
Leading the latest innovations from the London-based Italian food brand is the new Pizza Base Bianca (rsp: £3.25), catering to the increasing popularity of white pizzas – ie. those made without tomato sauce. Made with signature ‘Lievito Madre’ (sourdough starter), the base is topped with a creamy mozzarella sauce and cracked black pepper.
Crosta Mollica has also launched a Garlic & Rosemary Pinsa Bread (£3.95), drizzled with extra virgin olive oil for a light crumb and distinctive crunch.
And there’s a quartet of new pizzas (with tomato sauce) including:
- Primavera (£5.75) – topped with Taggiasca olives, balsamic vinegar-infused red onions, mozzarella, grilled courgettes and peppers, artichokes and a unique lemongrass and mascarpone sauce
- Siciliana (£5.75) – cheese-free and topped with garlic Taggiasca olives, red onions, dried caper crumb, Sicilian oregano, and fresh spinach
- Quattro Formaggi (£5.50) – topped with tangy Gorgonzola, smoky provola, creamy mozzarella, and a generous handful of Parmigiano Reggiano
- Salami Napoli Pizzette (£5.75) – a two-pack of 20cm formats topped with thinly-sliced pepper salami, buffalo mozzarella and smoked provola cheese.
Chicken and pork bakes, Country Choice
Two new savoury bakes have helped expand the hot food-to-go offer for convenience retailers and foodservice operators from Sysco-owned wholesale supplier Country Choice.
These include the Chicken Bake – made with diced chicken in a smooth, creamy sauce, encased in golden puff pastry – which is said to fill a clear gap for a classic option, sitting alongside the Steak Bake. The Sticky Pork Rib Bake, meanwhile, contains tender pork rib pieces coated in a sweet BBQ sauce, and is aimed at being a more premium and indulgent replacement to the Pulled Pork Bake.
The 170g grab-and-go pastries are suitable for all-year-round consumption and carry a recommended selling price of £2.80. They are supplied in cases of 36 with a four-hour hot-hold shelf life once baked.
Pork pies, Dickinson & Morris
Melton Mowbray-based pie makers Dickinson & Morris has unveiled two limited-edition new pork pies designed to tap into growing demand for sharable formats, bolder flavours, and more occasion-led eating.
The Picnic Pleaser (rsp: £4, 280g) marks the brand’s second collaboration with pie expert Calum Franklin. Billed as ‘a ploughman’s feast’, the shareable pie comprises hot water crust pastry deep filled with British chicken, outdoor-bred pork, wild garlic, and lemon zest. It has been launched at Tesco with a six-week listing coming up at Morrisons from mid-June.
Dickinson & Morris has also created new Pork, Chicken & Hot Honey Minis (£3, four-pack, 50g each) which replace the Mini Meltons. Available at Sainsbury’s and Waitrose stores, they are described as a little sweet with a kick of heat and have a filling of British chicken, outdoor-bred pork, hot honey, and red peppers.
BBQ pork toastie and sausage roll, Ginsters
Six months on from the introduction of its quick-to-heat pastry toasties range, Ginsters has added a fourth flavour – BBQ Pulled Pork & Cheddar.
The Samworth Brothers-owned brand revealed it has also expanded its distribution of the toasties (rsp: £2.50) beyond the micro-snacking fixtures of Tesco stores, with new listings in Co-op, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, One Stop, Nisa, Booker, and Amazon. Driving awareness is an extended marketing campaign that sees Ginsters invest a total of £1.55m across nine months.
In addition, Ginsters has rolled out a new limited-edition BBQ Pork Sausage Roll, combining British pork, mature Cheddar cheese, a blend of herbs and spices, and a touch of sweet and smoky BBQ sauce inside golden baked puff pastry. Available in 130g formats (rsp: £1.50) for back-of-store savoury pastry fixtures or 100g formats (£1.30) for the food-to-go chillers and meal deals, with selected roll outs at Morrisons, Asda and Sainsbury’s stores over the coming weeks.
Mexican flavoured Mini Cheddars, Jacob’s
A pair of limited-edition Mexican flavours have joined the Jacob’s Mini Cheddars range – Chipotle & Lime and Nacho Cheese.
These are available out across grocery, wholesale and convenience channels in 150g sharing bags (rsp: £2), with the Chipotle & Lime flavour also coming in 90g price-marked packs (£1.25).
“We’re adding two exciting Mini Cheddars limited edition flavours to our popular baked snack range, just in time for this year’s summer of sport,” explained Kate Stokes, marketing manager at Pladis UK&I, which manufactures Jacob’s ranges. “We’re combining on-trend culinary flavours, such as the popular smoky spice chipotle with cooling lime, and adding a super-cheesy twist to our baked cheese favourites,” she said, noting a growing appetite for spicy, tangy, and savoury profiles.
Premium quiches, Pieminister
Aiming to “do for quiche what they’ve done for pies”, Pieminister has launched a pair of premium fresh quiches (rsp: £3.65, 220g) into Waitrose and Ocado.
Marking the Bristol-based brand’s inaugural entry into the quiche category, the NPD rolled out this week includes an Eggs Benny variant featuring free range British ham, spinach, and vintage Cheddar in a wholegrain seeded pastry base. There’s also The Swiss, made with Emmental, waxy potato, leeks, and vintage Cheddar in a wholegrain seeded pastry base.
These names nod to brunch culture in a deliberate move to attract a younger audience to a category that currently over indexes in older shoppers, noted Pieminister. It conducted its own consumer research on 3,300 quiche buyers, finding that the 18-35 age group would reach for elevated versions of classic quiche recipes. They also desired a deep-filled format and strong protein credentials.
Chicken Vindaloo Pie, Pukka
Kicking off in time for World Cup fever this summer is a fiery new meal option from Pukka, the Chicken Vindaloo Pie (rsp: £2.25, 205g). This ups the spiciness ante to a four-chilli rating for the first time, compared to the brand’s existing Chicken Balti Pie (one chilli) and Buffalo Chicken Pie (two chillies).
The new pie combines tender pieces of chicken with a rich Vindaloo sauce, packed with habanero and bird’s eye chilli, all encased in signature 144-layer puff pastry. It has been stocked by Tesco ahead of a wider supermarket roll out across Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Iceland, and Ocado.
Pukka noted its limited-edition launches have helped add £1.6m to the category and brand to date, with most recent financial results showing turnover up by 4% to £88.6m at the Leicestershire company.
High protein sausage roll, Wall’s
Tapping into the healthy demand for protein-rich versions of everyday favourites is the new High Protein Sausage Roll from Wall’s.
The savoury pastry brand, part of The Compleat Food Group, said it took a year of development to create the HFSS-compliant sausage roll (rsp: £1.50, 120g), which delivers 16g of protein at just 303 calories. It is available at Tesco and Morrisons stores nationwide, and in C&I from May.
“Being the UK’s first brand to bring a high-protein sausage roll to retail is a big step forward,” commented Jason Manley, brand director at The Compleat Food Group. “It brings genuine innovation, recruits new shoppers, and shows that food can be both functional and great tasting.”
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