Baker Street part-baked baguette

Carrs Foods has revamped its Baker Street range of wrapped bread, expanding its listings from the convenience channel to the major mults for the first time.

The result of around eight months’ development, the £500k overhaul of the 18 lines is aimed at time-poor shoppers. Two SKUs – 4 Part Baked Petit Pain and 2 Part Baked Baguettes (rsp: £1) – are set to roll out to 330 Waitrose stores on 2 March, marking Baker Street’s first appearance in a leading high street supermarket since its launch 16 years ago. It has previously been available from Ocado.

Baker Street was created in 2002 to help convenience stores reduce food waste via a proprietary baking process and packaging that keep contents fresher for longer. While the brand had been repositioned to appeal to busy consumers, it was “cleverly” wrapped for a minimum shelf life of 30 days, said Tim Boote, Carrs Foods marketing director.

The change “to fit in with modern lifestyles” came as more grocery brands underlined the benefits of longer life products that “help consumers minimise their food waste”.

Baker Street’s listing in Waitrose would help add value to the part-baked subcategory, Boote added.

Backed by in-store, PR and social media activity, the brand’s relaunch will be followed in May by NPD. It comes as the wrapped loaves category looks to be in recovery, approaching breakeven last year with value sales down just 0.3% to £1.3bn [Nielsen 52 w/e 9 September 2017].