Jolly Hog gammon

Source: The jolly Hog

The outdoor-reared gammon will go on sale in November

Premium pork brand The Jolly Hog will venture out of its bacon and sausage heartland this month with the launch of its first gammon product.

The Bristol-based brand, established by former Harlequins and Wales rugby union player Olly Kohn and his two brothers, will launch a black treacle gammon joint into Sainsbury’s and Ocado from 9 November (rsp: TBC).

The 1.1kg joint can serve up to eight people, and is pitched as an upmarket Christmas gammon, said Kohn.

He added the brand hoped the RSPCA Assured, outdoor-reared product, which has been cured in black treacle, would help change perceptions of gammon as “old school” and attract younger shoppers.

“Gammon does well at Christmas, but is seen as something for older shoppers. So we’re hoping this can appeal to a younger audience,” he said, citing the brand’s indexing with “young foodies that want something different”.

Since launching into Sainsbury’s with two lines across 40 stores in 2015, the brand had expanded its offering to ten bacon and sausage lines with national distribution, Kohn added. Branded bacon sales were performing particularly well, he added, with volumes up 14.1% year on year, according to the brand’s own sales data.

Kohn also said The jolly Hog had a significant pipeline of NPD planned for next year, with a first soft-set scotch egg due to go on sale in 2020.