Savoury biscuit growth

United Biscuits UK will be further growing the buoyant savoury biscuit category throughout 2013 with the launch of new flavours from its incredibly successful Jacob’s Oddities brand and a new product extension for its Carr’s range to tap into social sharing occasions.

Already worth £8m in just 9 months of sale since launch, on track to reach over £10m in its first year and showing a very strong repeat purchase rate, Jacob’s Oddities is one not to be missed by retailers in 2013.  To continue the brand’s success, UB is launching a number of new flavours to the baked snack range to drive sales and footfall into the Savoury Biscuits aisle for retailers.

Following extensive consumer research into flavour preferences, UBUK is launching three new variants to the range; salt & vinegar, sour cream & chive and ready salted, all of which received exceptionally high scores amongst consumers, as well as a high purchase intention both pre and post trial.  All of the new variants will be available to buy from March in multipack (5 x 25g bags) and 125g sharing bag formats at MRRPs of £1.75 and £1.42 respectively.

The new flavours will be supported by a fully integrated media campaign later in the year to drive awareness and trial amongst younger shoppers including TV, radio and social media elements.  Further information on this marketing campaign will be announced later in the year.

Premium biscuit brand Carr’s will also be helping to drive further growth into the booming savoury biscuits market (worth £102m and growing by 16%) with its new innovative snacking range.  Launched in response to research that shows a strong consumer demand for premium savoury snacks with unique shapes and textures, Carr’s Melts Cheese & Seed Triangles will be available to buy from January.

The light puff pastry Triangles have a moreish cheese flavour and distinct crunchy seeded topping, providing a fun and tasty snack that are a perfect bite-sized treat for dipping and sharing or just as satisfying straight from the bag. The new range will be available in 65g cartons with an MRRP of £1.75.

The new addition will be supported by in-store promotions and will meet the increasing consumer demand for bite-sized savoury biscuits for home sharing and snacking occasions. 30% of Carr’s consumers already buy products in this category so there is a great opportunity to convert them to a brand they love, as well as appealing to new shoppers.

Jon Eggleton, marketing director at UBUK, comments, “Savoury Biscuits have again shown strong growth in 2012. Jacob’s Oddities has recruited younger consumers into the segment.  This combined with the increasing number of meal and snacking occasions where Savoury Biscuits are enjoyed or eaten as an alternative to bread, has allowed the segment to go from strength to strength.

“Jacob’s Oddities has performed exceptionally well thanks to their wide appeal and with the launch of our flavours, we expect it to continue to do so in 2013.  The addition of the new Carr’s Melts Cheese & Seed Triangles is perfect for those sharing snacking occasions so we’re confident that they will attract new and younger consumers into the Savoury Biscuit aisle and in turn drive sales for retailers.”