Northern Irish bakery Irwin’s has expanded its Softee range to offer shoppers an alternative to white bread. 

The wholegrain [800g] and brown and white [750g] loaves join the original Softee - which launched in 2009 and has since become one of the Portadown-based bakery’s most successful brands with year-on-year sales growth of 53% [AC Nielsen NI 52 weeks to 7 November 2015] - and Softee Extra Thick.

Both variants are available from major retailers, priced at £1.09.

According to Irwin’s, the new products were developed in response to increasing demand for variety in pan bread and follow research which found that 80% of consumers do not consume the daily recommended intake of wholegrains [British Journal of Nutrition 2015].

“Our new Softee Brown and White and Softee Wholegrain loaves are made with the same quality ingredients as the original Softee but they offer shoppers an alternative to white bread while maintaining the texture which has made Softee so popular,” Colette Wilson, Irwin’s bakery marketing manager said. “The Softee Brown and White loaf gives shoppers the best of both worlds as it is made with a combination of white and wholemeal flour.”