Revealed: British Baker’s top 10 bakery launches of 2025

There was innovation aplenty to keep the bakery market fresh and exciting in 2025.

This included international flavours, sourdough, and indulgence in droves as well as health-focused products looking to meet demand for better-for-you bakery items.

Here, British Baker reveals some of its favourite new products to hit shelves in 2025:

Irish Coffee Slice, Bako

The Irish Coffee Slice, made as a collaboration between Bako and Wrights Food Group, comprises a moist vanilla sponge cake, with a coffee caramel filling and topped with Irish liqueur cream. But what makes this truly innovative is the way it was brought to market. To achieve this, Bako created the Young Bakers initiative – a project designed to help inspire the next generation of bakers while offering them hands-on experience of rolling out new products. Enter Naomi Spaven and Ella Muddiman from Coleg Cambria who helped bring the project to life.

Proper Sourdough Crumpets, Jason’s Sourdough

Crumpets might not seem that innovative, but when a challenger brand – which has just taken a podium spot in the line-up of Britain’s biggest bread brands – unabashedly ventures into the market people take notice. The crumpets, made from flour, water, salt, and fermented wheat flour, hit the market in September marking the brand’s first foray into the morning goods category.

Crumpets are apparently the market to be seen in as Wildfarmed also rolled out Regenerative Crumpets last month. Notably, the four-pack crumpets are stacked vertically.

Gulab Jamun Cake, Cake Box

Having bought South Asian sweets brand Ambala earlier in the year, egg-free dessert specialist Cake Box brought a range of treats inspired by the region’s desserts to the UK market. The range re-imagines much-loved mithai (traditional South Asian sweets enjoyed across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and beyond) in cake form, bringing authentic flavours into accessible formats for both long-standing fans and adventurous foodies. The Gulab Jamun Cake, for example, has a caramel sponge with cream layers that recreate the syrupy richness of the classic dessert. The cake has caramel curls on the sides and is topped with swirls of fresh cream and syrup-soaked Gulab Jamuns.

Turkey Double Dip ‘n’ Dunk Wrap, Co-op

Double dipping is normally frowned upon, but convenience retailer Co-op was actually encouraging such behaviour with the launch of its festive wrap. The wrap – which is filled with British pulled turkey breast with hot honey roasted carrot ribbons, baby leaf spinach, sage & onion stuffing, and sage & onion mayo – comes with two dipping pots for an interactive experience. One pot contains sage & onion gravy while the other has a rosemary, thyme, & garlic crumb.

Ancient Grains & Seeds Bloomer, Genius

Genius sought to solve one of the main challenges of gluten-free baking at scale by promising ‘clean label’ loaves which were also free from artificial preservatives, flavourings, and emulsifiers. The Naturally Genius range, developed with TV personality and cookbook author Megan McKenna, includes the Ancient Grains & Seeds Bloomer. Ingredients include maize, tapioca, and potato starches, mixed seeds, vegetable fibres, and teff flour as well as apple cider vinegar and quinoa. The addition of seeds means it’s also packing a punch when it comes to fibre with 10.4g per two slices.

Genius wasn’t the only one to venture into clean label loaves. M&S rolled out toasting loaves as part of its ‘Only… Ingredients’ range which promises six or fewer ingredients per product.

Chunked ‘n’ Loaded Cookies, M&S

There was an abundance of NPD to choose from for this list at M&S, from the viral Red Diamond Strawberry & Crème Sandwich to the aforementioned ‘Only… Ingredients’ loaves, and the range of Lamingtons made by Genesis Bakery. Ultimately, we settled on the Chunked ‘N’ Loaded Cookies which saw the retailer turn the indulgence levels all the way up with a trio of on-trend flavours of topped and filled cookies. The cookies – available in Chocolate & Hazelnut, Raspberry Cheesecake, and Pistachio – are crafted from an all-butter recipe using Wildfarmed flour, then baked and hand-finished in store daily. The Raspberry Cheesecake Cookie, for example, has all-butter cookie dough with white chocolate chips, loaded with a creamy raspberry cheesecake filling, and topped with a white chocolate drizzle and freeze-dried raspberries.

Dirty Chai, Chocolate & Pistachio Babka, Patisserie Mark Bennett

We can’t have a top NPD list without acknowledging the sensation that is the Dirty Chai, Chocolate & Pistachio Babka from Patisserie Mark Bennett. This indulgent treat fought off stiff competition to be named New Bakery Product of the Year at the 2025 Baking Industry Awards. The babka is made with the bakery’s house brioche dough which is infused with cinnamon, black pepper, clove, cardamom, and ginger before being rolled up with a chocolate filling to prove and then bake. It is then topped with a coffee icing and sprinkled with roasted chopped pistachios for added colour and texture.

Tandoori Squares, Oaf

Bakery brand Oaf landed on the scene in June with an ambition to shake up the market by attracting a broader healthy foodie shopper to the free-from aisles. Manufactured by supplier Juvela, it swiftly followed its initial launch with a range of sandwich alternatives including Garlicky and Tandoori Squares. Emblazoned with the words ‘Rip it. Dip it. Share it’, the squares are vegan and free from the top 14 allergens, can be heated, topped, and filled. What’s more, they can be torn along the pre-perforated lines into bite-sized squares to serve as a light lunch, snack board hero, or side to a meal.

Half-and-half Wicked cake, Finsbury Food Group

The world went Wicked mad as the final instalment of Elphaba and Glinda’s adventure hit cinemas. Finsbury sought to get in on the action as part of a 15-year partnership with Universal Products & Experiences. Representing the duality of the main characters, the cake consists of two halves. One half is decorated with green frosting and green and black sprinkles for Elphaba while the other half has pink frosting and sprinkles for Glinda. The theme is also reflected on the inside with the Elphaba half comprising an indulgent chocolate sponge while Glinda’s half is made of a light vanilla sponge.

Cheese & Herb Sub Rolls, Hovis

Despite a proposed acquisition by Kingsmill owner Associated British Foods, it’s been business as usual at Hovis this year with a steady stream of NPD including sub rolls, healthier loaves, and a sliced sourdough cob range. The Cheese & Herb Sub Rolls made this list as they represent a general shift in the market with more focus on sandwich alternatives than wrapped bread. The NPD – part of a four-strong range – ramped up Hovis’ presence in the sandwich alternatives space and are influenced by the re-emergence of premium sandwiches in the out-of-home space.