Focus On Pasta & Pasta Sauces: 4 October

By Emma Weinbren (emmaweinbrenwrites@gmail.com)

Publishing: 4 October 2025

Advertising deadline: 19 September 2025

Submissions deadline: 12 September 2025

Print, digital and sponsorship opportunities

Move over macaroni. UK shoppers are being spoiled for choice with varieties of dried and fresh pasta that go way beyond the familiar. The one pasta brand, for example, is winning space with premium orzo, bucatini and tubetti lines while another has recently launched a range of Italian inspired breakfast products. What’s driving this diversification? Which retailers are behind this? How are the market-leaders responding? What sauces are people using? And can you really have pasta for breakfast?

Fresh v dried pasta: last year we reported on the growth in fresh filled pasta, which became the UK’s bestselling past category for the first time. In this feature we will explore the extent to which this trend has continued and what’s driving it, as well as the performance of dried pasta varieties.

Pasta sauces: Another key focus will be how sales of pasta sauces are performing, the brands and products that are in growth and decline, and the trends that are driving change in the category. To what extent is the growth in more varied types of pasta driving change in pasta sauces?

Own label vs brands: Own label dominates the pasta category. Which retailers lead the way in terms of prices and innovation? Which mechanisms, besides competitive pricing, are retailers using to drive growth of their ranges? What are particularly successful ones getting right? And what about sauces?

Provenance: How much pasta consumed in the UK is made with Italian durum wheat and how is this changing? What are the challenges if growing durum wheat in the UK?

Innovation: This feature will explore the latest trends in the pasta and pasta sauces category and how this is playing out in terms of product innovation. We will profile four new products or ranges, ideally ones that have not appeared