Mr Kipling innovation drives quarterly sweet treat gains at Premier Foods

In a Q1 trading update for the 13 weeks ended 27 June 2026, the St Albans-headquartered manufacturer reported a 6.6% year-on-year increase in revenue up to £61.6m for its branded sweet treats ranges, which includes Mr Kipling and Cadbury cakes.

NPD was once again a major contributor of this growth with recent Mr Kipling launches including the new Birthday Cake Slices, which builds on the success of its US trend-inspired Birthday Cake Tarts. In addition, new Mr Kipling Whirls in flavours of Cookies & Cream and Custard Cream were unveiled during the period – the latter aligned with the British ‘newstalgia’ trend for the summer season.

Premier Foods also noted its latest quarter had benefitted from prior year launches of the already successful Mr Kipling cake bites tubs and breakfast bakes, which helped the bakery brand outperform the cake category again, gaining further market share. Recently achieved distribution of Mr Kipling cake slices and pies in the US resulted in a strong lift in North America revenue.

With sales up by 9%, Mr Kipling was highlighted as the fast-growing brand among the company’s portfolio that include the likes of Ambrosia, Bisto, Sharwood’s, Oxo, and Angel Delight, as well as more recently acquired Merchant Gourmet, Fuel10K, and The Spice Taylor.

On the non-branded side of sweet treats, the manufacturer was able to reverse a 1% decline in sales from the previous financial year to post a 5.3% rise to £7.9m, which was explained by improved volumes on pies and tarts and a new contract win. Premier Foods said it expected modest growth in the subdivision for the remainder of the year.

Coupled with its grocery division, Premier Foods’ group branded revenue went up by 4.1% to £225.1m and, despite a 9.1% in non-branded sales, its headline revenue was up by 2.8% to reach £246.4m. The company’s expectations for trading profit for FY27 remained unchanged at an average of £211.4m (more than 5% better than the £200.4m it reported for FY26) as it looks to continue leveraging its branded growth model across its portfolio.