Roberts Bakery is tapping the burgeoning gut health trend with the launch of a three-strong range of Digestion Bloomers.

Launching via an exclusive partnership with Tesco from May 12, the range features a Digestion Boost Wondrous White, a Digestion Boost Heroic Wholemeal and Seriously Seeded loaves. They will initially be stocked in 300 Tesco Express, Superstore and Extra stores in England with an rsp of £1.49.

Half these are located in Roberts’ ‘heartlands’ of the North West and Midlands, where Digestion Boost will replace the existing Roberts bloomer SKUs. Roberts recently secured distribution for its bloomers in 2,200 stores and forecourts through wholesale Booker.

The remaining 150 Tesco stores to stock Roberts’ Heroic Wholemeal Digestion Boost Bloomers can be found in London – almost all of which are first-time listings for the brand.

The range includes live ferments and is “packed with fibre and calcium to complement a healthy gut, enabling all artificial preservatives to be removed as well as some of the additives – E471, E472e, E282 – present in other loaves,” according to the bakery business.

It added that sourdough is not widely understood by consumers so it has “focused on a gap in the market to add the benefits of fermentation to the convenience of a sliced, everyday loaf and make it widely accessible”.

“This particular NPD was driven by the perceptions of bread being unhealthy among consumers, and in some cases causing stomach discomfort such as bloating. It starts to bring forward proactive health benefits, which get to the heart of the category issue, and hopefully lays to rest some of those consumer concerns, creating a perception that bread can be gut friendly and can be eaten daily,” said Roberts’ managing director, Stuart Spencer-Calnan.

Roberts hopes the range will attract more health- and eco-conscious shoppers back to bread.

The launch will be supported by a multi-channel marketing campaign explaining the product benefits to consumers.