Candy heaven in freshly-baked cookie form from Nestlé and Rich’s
The new additions to Rich’s ‘Baked Made With’ instore bakery range include Matchmakers Zingy Orange, Munchies, and Little Rolo.
The collection combines some of Nestlé’s top-selling treats (the combined brand value of the trio is almost £60m in the UK) with Rich Products’ bakery expertise. The Buffalo, New York-headquartered bakery manufacturer is one of the world’s largest family-owned food companies and a global supplier to the foodservice, in-store bakery and retail channels in more than 100 countries. Its UK base in Andover is a state-of-the-art facility created deliver across Europe.
Sold in packs of four cookies, the biscuits cater for a more sizeable snacking occasion or as a sharing treat, and respond to the growing demand for premium freshly-baked cookies.
COVID played a major role in driving demand, with people craving to assuage pressure by seeking out comforting moments. Indulgence, sweetness and familiarity are key to creating the ultimate pick-me-up.
According to Rich’s, premium cookies sales were up 20% in 2021, while filled cookies also helped to grow the category. The company added that in-store visits to supermarkets hit their highest level since March 2020 in December 2021, as consumer confidence returned, reaffirming the importance of unique product offerings like oven-fresh cookies.
New year excitement
“This is a major step for the Baked bakery brand, which is already worth £2.5m since launching last year,” said John Want, sales, marketing and R&D director at Rich’s UK.
“Branded and premium own label products have performed strongly in the past 18 months, with shoppers trusting known brands to offer them a reliable and quality experience.
“Nestlé Professional’s portfolio includes some of the most recognised confectionary brands in the world and our development team has loved using these unique and delicious ingredients to create exciting new cookies.”
While shoppers were tightening their purse strings, “people still want to treat themselves” he added. “Over 82% of the population bought sweet ISB products from grocery retailers in the past year.
“These new cookie additions will add some new year excitement to the in-store bakery category and are brilliant to share with friends and family.”
Baked by Rich’s ‘Made With’ Matchmakers and Rolo variants are now in selected Asda and Co-op stores; the latter also in branches of Sainsbury’s. Munchies will be sold exclusively in selected Co-op stores from February; all for an RRP of £1.50 for a bag of 4 cookies.
