Head to head: continental drift
Bonne Maman
Since the arrival in the UK of this French brand in 1986, the range has grown to 26 products covering jams, marmalade and a new reduced sugar brand Light & Fruity, plus a selection pack containing 6x50g pots.
Its retail sales value stands at £7.63m which represents a growth of £1.89m over the past 12 months [ACNielsen] and its distributor claims it was the only extra jam brand to increase value in that period.
In April Bonne Maman's owner Andros formed a joint venture called Andros UK with the John Lusty Group, whose subsidiary Trustin Unimerchants handles the brand here, to help increase penetration.
What is it? A continental soft set conserve using the "least amount of pectin we can get away with", thereby maintaining the full taste of the fruit. Its owner has pioneered this new style of jam here in 340g polygonal shaped jars with a typically French red gingham patterned top, premium priced from £1.35, to give the extra jam category the boost it needed. It is now making an assault on the reduced sugar sector with Light & Fruity in a more svelte 250g jar with a blue gingham top.
St Dalfour Rhapsodiede Fruit
Another French brand produced in the south west of the country and handled by Canners & Packers International.
There are now 13 flavours in the range, the latest being fig royale a blend of approximately 50% ripe figs, 50% concentrated grape juice and fruit pectin.
Sales, it claims, are increasing across the UK and received a fillip at the BBC Good Food Show where more than 11,000 jars were sold in five days.
What is it? It is classed as a fruit spread because it is sweetened by fruit juice and contains no sugar.
St Dalfour comes in a 284g jar and retails for £1.30.
Gabry
This new kid on the block comes from Dream Fruits in Spain. Exclusively handled by RH Amar, it will be hitting the shelves in February/March.
Dream Fruits aims to shake up the market and be a worthy contender to both Bonne Maman and St Dalfour, and claims to fit the bill on two counts: each jar contains three times its weight in fruit, and there is no added sugar.
What is it? A fruit spread sweetened by grape juice concentrate. The product comes in 11 flavours: apricot, wild blueberry, black cherry, plum, raspberry, strawberry, fruits of the forest, peach, blackcurrant, blackberry and fine cut orange, in an octagonal shaped jar smaller than those other companies use. This, says the company, will appeal to smaller households and allow for quicker usage. A 210g jar will retail at £1.19. It is also available in a mini pot.
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