FDBusiness.com

Fletchers Group of Bakeries has launched its first ever cupcake range – complete with an indulgent filling – through its foodservice Kara brand.

Kara, which specialises in frozen buns, rolls and doughballs for the food service and convenience sectors, now offers a range of four new cupcakes – Chocolate Heaven filled with chocolate sauce; Strawberry Sensation with strawberry jam; Lemon Meringue with lemon curd and Ice Cream Sundae with raspberry sauce.

The innovative move by the group aims to take a slice of the cupcake market which has boomed since 2009 seeing consumption rise by 52 per cent and sales reach £23.5m according to retail industry statistics.

In 2012 retail consumers purchased more than 110 million cupcakes – nearly two each for every man, woman and child.

Stephen Holding, managing director of Fletchers Group, said: “Cupcakes were a gap in our portfolio. These are an innovation in the bakery market, with our four ground-breaking flavours and the concept of a luxurious, indulgent filling. There are no other cupcakes like this on the foodservice market.

“In the foodservice sector, end customers often want products that they cannot buy in retail.

“Operators are looking for a point of difference to tempt customers and consumers are willing to treat themselves and pay that bit extra, despite the challenging economic times, for something new. There is still a huge market for cupcakes.”

In identifying and targeting this market, the group has thought carefully about positioning the product making sure the high quality, innovative concept is also competitively priced and efficient on packaging and wastage. It even offers seasonal variations.

Stephen added: “We are always thinking about flavour and consumer tastes but we also have to be price competitive, offer flexibility in distribution and consider robust, efficient packaging with a smaller pack size.”

Last month Fletchers Group announced a new £1m cold store at Kara as part of a £12m capital investment programme. The cold store complemented a £4m expansion of food manufacturing facilities at London-based Grain D’Or and the creation of a brand new £7m production facility at the Fletchers site in Sheffield.

The cupcakes, which are part of The Signature Bakery Range – a sub-brand encompassing all Kara high quality, sweet bakery lines, come in a 3×4 pack size, weighing 65g offering efficiency with freezer space and wastage.

Fletchers Group fresh and frozen product range now includes American and English muffins, buns and rolls, bread and speciality bread, pastries, croissants, doughnuts, scones, baguettes and doughballs.

For further details visit www.fletchersbakeries.co.uk