Canned & ambient goods 2025: Volumes rise for only one subsector

It should have been a great year for canned & ambient food. As many household budgets remain stretched, the category’s relative value and long shelf lives were perfectly positioned for sales success.

But only one of the six sectors covered here, canned & ambient fish, achieved volume growth. It’s up 1.8 million kilos – roughly the equivalent of 12.4 million tins of tuna. Premium brand Rio Mare delivered the sector’s largest volume increase of 42.9%, which drove value up 43.3%.

“Rio Mare is genuinely enriching the UK canned tuna category,” says Igor Viteznik, sales & marketing manager at owner Bolton UK. “Consumer research shows the brand is engaging pre-family consumers who were not previously involved with the category.”

The brand is “very proud” of the performance of its Rio Mare Tuna Fillets in glass jars, he adds, and “we’re seeing excellent results from our Insalatissime Tuna salads (see Top Launch, below), which meet a growing consumer need for convenience”.

It’s worth noting that fish is also the only segment of canned & ambient in which own label gained ground. Its poor showings in other sectors have largely driven declines.

In canned veg, for instance, own label lost 6% of value on volumes down 5.7%. All growth came from brands, which saw value increase 13.5% on volumes up 7.7% for pulses, tomatoes and the like. Higher-end players did most of the heavy lifting – reflecting the “demand for premium quality and sustainably sourced products” says Lisa Rees, NIQ team leader for retailer services.

Belazu was one of the posh brands to benefit. “Canned beans and pulses have gone from strength to strength this year,” says the brand’s head of retail Vicky Parry. Belazu’s beans and pulses range has “undoubtedly been one of the biggest successes for the brand in the last year”.

She points to beans and pulses gaining traction on restaurant menus as chefs “embrace their versatility and power to impart global flavours. This education filters through to home cooks, who are looking to create restaurant-quality meals in their own kitchens as dining out continues to be a cost of living challenge”.

Inflation is “naturally a key topic” for the brand, Parry adds, but “consumers are willing to trade up for the quality we offer”.

It’s not just pulses on the rise in canned & ambient veg. Tomato brands Napolina, Cirio and Mutti have all experienced double-digit growth in value and volumes.

Mutti’s gains of 45.9% and 33% in value and kilos respectively follow £5m of marketing in 2025. The brand also added larger formats of its top sellers, including Peeled Tomatoes 4x400g, Passata 770g and Triple Concentrate Puree 200g.

“Together, these developments have enhanced Mutti’s brand presence, supported repertoire growth and reinforced our position as the trusted choice for high-quality Italian tomatoes,” says Louise Jobson, the Italian player’s UK head of shopper & category marketing.

Posher baked beans

Higher-end brands are also making noise in baked beans, where Bold Bean Co made its debut in November 2024 with three lines. It’s since leapt into the segment’s top five brands with a £0.8m gain.

“By entering the £465m baked bean category and taking on Heinz, we’ve opened Bold Bean Co to entirely new shoppers and occasions. Strategically, this has been crucial,” says Beth Latham, Bold Bean Co head of category & insight.

“Our core beans play in scratch cooking, while baked beans target quick meal moments. The ranges are complementary, expanding our relevance.”

To drive awareness, the brand executed its “largest ever” push this summer, handing  out samples to over 10,000 people at London’s Paddington and Victoria railway stations.

Bold Bean Co’s taken a small bite out of Heinz Baked Beanz, which had another difficult year. It’s shed £12.7m and five million kilos. The past 12 months were “about stabilising our brand penetration and share of category against the headwinds of inflation and after Covid sales growth”, stresses Alessandra de Dreuille, director of meals at Kraft Heinz.

In 2026, “our plan is straightforward: make sure the value equation is right”, she adds. “We’re investing in price on key lines to deliver better value for consumers.”

Investing in posh innovation might be prudent too.