Foodservice supplier Glendale Foods is poised to launch its premium range of frozen sweet and savoury suet-based puddings into the retail sector.

The Great British Pudding range has pitched itself against premium pie producers in the frozen retail market, with unusual flavours such as a pudding with Mediterranean vegetables and Spinach, as well as quintessentially English dishes such as steak & kidney pie.

A sticky toffee pudding and a woodland fruits variant make up the desserts menu.

The products will be positioned at the premium end of the market and will be priced between £2.40 and £2.99 for a twin-pack containing two 190g portions.

Glendale hopes to tap into the recent upturn in fortunes of premium frozen offerings, which helped the total frozen category transform a decline in sales last year to a 1% increase [TNS, 52 w/e to 25 March, 2007].

MD Paul Burkitt said the range offered a point of difference in the category because it was suet-based. The suet pastry case provides a better ingredient carrier than pastry-topped pies, he claimed.

Retail is the last sales channel for the range to expand into.

The company recently started supplying cash & carry outlets, including Booker and Batleys, where it sells the products with a sleeve over them.

"Retailers are looking for ways to lift the price in the frozen aisle and we are giving them an opportunity to do that with the Great British Pudding range," said Burkitt.

The puddings are baked, rather than steamed, and can be microwaved from frozen in about five minutes, meeting consumer demand for convenience.

Quality ingredients such as real ale and premium beef have been used across the range to ensure quality.

Glendale Foods, formed through the merger of Glendale Frozen Foods and sausage producer Supreme Foods in August, acquired The Great British Pudding Company. It already manufactured the puddings under licence.