Famous brands send Premier Foods’ profits soaring

Consumers stuck at home during lengthy lockdowns are turning to familiar brands for consolation, judging by trading results from the UK’s Premier Foods, the maker of Mr Kipling cakes and Bisto gravy.

A strong brand performance

Reporting on the three months to the end of 2020, the company says it’s expecting profits for the full year to March to be up at least 12%.

• Describing “another exceptional quarter of trading”, Premier Foods said sales of its branded products were up 16% for the year to date – seven times the growth rate of non-branded products.
• Comforting, old-favourite brand names performed very strongly – Mr Kipling cakes is on track for a record year; gravy brand Bisto and Batchelors, the market leader in dried soups, both saw double-digit sales growth. Ambrosia custard and rice pudding also saw sales climb.
• Sales of Sharwood’s cooking sauces surged by 40% for the quarter, helped by a new low-sugar version of a stir-fry sauce. This and a number of other products were boosted by TV ad campaigns.

Soundbite

“We continue to deploy our branded growth model strategy, launching a series of new products in the quarter ... and supporting five of our major brands with TV advertising. Together with excellent execution both in-store and online, we continue to take market share in volume and value terms”* – Alex Whitehouse, CEO, Premier Foods.

^{* this quote was added on January 27, replacing the original one from a non-company source}