Foodservice provider Bidfood has cut an average of 25% of the sugar from across its cakes and 20% across its pie fillings.

Bidfood said it had been working hard to continue its commitment to reducing sugar following a 23% sugar reduction in its ice cream range last year.

Some of its most popular cakes, such as the pre-cut Everyday Favourites Black Forest gateau, have been reformulated to reduce sugar by as much as 30%. This had been achieved by increasing the fruit content and refreshing the flavour profile, Bidfood said.

The sugar reduction process has been put in place to enable Bidfood to meet or exceed the target of 20% sugar reduction by 2020, set by Public Health England. The initiative comes in support of The Childhood Obesity Plan, which is initially targeting the nine categories that make the largest contributions, including ice creams, cakes and biscuits.

Next in line for Bidfood are cookie dough pucks, brownies, cheesecakes and tarts, which will begin the reformulation process from this summer.

“Within the bakery and desserts category, consumers generally won’t choose a low-sugar option. It is therefore important to reformulate the current offering to improve the nutritional value without impacting the taste,” said Laura Manning, bakery and desserts category manager, Bidfood.

“At Bidfood, any product alterations are rigorously tested in order to ensure taste and texture aren’t negatively impacted. The feedback we have had so far has been overwhelmingly positive, suggesting that the intended flavours actually come out stronger when the sugar is reduced.”