The ambient curry sauces category is a tough market to crack, with two major brands, Sharwood's and Patak's, as well as own label accounting for the majority of sales. According to TNS, the Indian cooking sauces market is worth about £80m and is growing at 1%, thanks to an increased frequency of purchase by consumers. But smaller brands are likely to struggle against the might of the big players. Patak's, which was bought by Associated British Foods in June, has an extensive portfolio, including more than 10 sauces in jars, 10 pastes and three pickles. Its most recent NPD is its Coat & Cook concept, a range of curry pastes in one-shot sachets, and under its new parent more new products and concepts are expected to be launched next year. Premier Foods' Sharwood's brand, meanwhile, consists of nine standard cooking sauces and two lighter variants. The brand has also stretched itself into chutneys and pickles, curry powders and pastes, breads and poppadoms. Its Loyd Grossman brand also has a popular range of curry sauces, as does Mars UK's Uncle Ben's range. There are a number of smaller players in the category, although they do have a limited shelf presence. One of the best known is Geeta's, which targets the more premium end of the category and produces curry sauces, cooking pastes, chutneys and pickles. The British Curry Company, however, does not feel there is a direct competitor to its Bombay Authentics sauces, which it describes as premium versions of classic British curry dishes. "We don't believe there is a product quite like ours on the market," says co-founder Maria Hellyer. "These are traditional curry sauces and chutneys, but with an Anglo-Indian bent, so that they appeal to UK consumers." The big players have made moves into the premium end of the sector, but as far as Hellyer is concerned consumers don't trust the big brands to deliver top-end products. "I have absolute belief in our brand," she says.