Warburtons is launching a pair of upmarket unsliced loaves to help c-stores and other outlets that don't have an in-store bakery.

The market-leading baker is rolling out Tiger White and Tiger Brown loaves (rsp: £1.19 per 600g loaf) this week to provide a bread more suitable for "special meal occasions" than standard sliced loaves.

Warburtons said the loaves named after the striped pattern on the crust had the flavour and crustiness of just-baked bread, but contained ingredients that gave them the shelf life of wrapped sliced bread.

The new loaves would provide an upmarket alternative to other small and medium-sized loaves, said Warburtons.

To boost its premium credentials and provide shelf standout, the line-up is packaged in rustic paper with a Warburtons signature-style logo.

The NPD would prove popular among smaller outlets that lacked the space to sell freshly baked loaves made in their own in-store bakery, said Richard Hayes, marketing director. "We wanted to ­inject a bit of interest into the wrapped bread market. Bread suppliers need to take mainstream bread into a wider variety of usage occasions to drive value sales."

Meanwhile, rival baker Kingsmill introduced a new loaf called Oatilicious (rsp: £1.39 per 800g loaf) into the healthier bread category this week. The ABF company expected the combination of wholegrain oats and wheat flour without any bits to appeal to health-conscious families.

It will be supported by a £1.3m media campaign, including television, starting in March.

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