Waitrose has produced its first-ever Easter egg panettone.

Sprinkled with pastel sugar confetti, the oval-shaped loaf (£10/600g) is made from a traditional sourdough recipe that takes 12 hours to produce, as well as butter and chocolate.

“Panettone is a popular choice with our customers and we want to offer them the chance to enjoy it outside of the festive period, so we’re really excited to be able to introduce it as part of our seasonal range,” said Stuart Owens, Waitrose product developer.

“Made to look like an Easter egg, the chocolatey twist on the classic recipe makes it the perfect treat for everyone to enjoy.”

Panettone has been a focus of supermarket NPD in recent years, with Waitrose last Christmas launching the Heston from Waitrose Black Forest Panettone (RSP: £12.50), described as a cherry-scattered bread topped with dark chocolate and kirsch-soaked cherries.

Other launches have included an Arden and Amici chocolate chip panettone, again at Waitrose; a prosecco panettone stocked by Tesco; and Selfridges selling a salted caramel panettone.

British Baker subscribers can read our report on Christmas panettone NPD here, and more on Easter NPD here.