Warburtons toastie

The ASA has shot down Warburtons’ claim it was ‘London’s biggest baker’

Warburtons ads claiming it to be London’s biggest baker have been banned after its main rivals Premier Foods and Allied Bakeries complained.

The manufacturers of Hovis and Kingsmill complained to the Advertising Standards Authority after the press ads appeared in the summer stating Warburtons was “No.1 - Now London’s Biggest Bakers”.

Although Warburtons provided independent market research data for both 52 weeks and 12 weeks to back up its claim, the ASA today sided with the complainants.

The ad watchdog noted that Hovis baker Premier Foods had provided data from an independent market research source contradicting the Warburtons data.

It said the Warburtons data only covered supermarkets and not independent retailers and convenience stores and it did not include freshly baked products.

Because Warburtons used the word “bakers”, the ASA said consumers would not expect the claim to only refer to wrapped bakery products. 

“We considered that consumers had not been provided with sufficient information to understand the basis of comparison and we therefore concluded that the claim was misleading,” said the ASA.