St Pierre, the European bakery expert has rounded off a successful summer, securing a significant increase in its distribution with one of the UK’s largest supermarket chains.
From mid-September, St Pierre Brioche Burger Buns and St Pierre Seeded Brioche Burger Buns will increase listings by 44 per cent and 11 per cent respectively, with the retail giant.
The news comes following a bumper summer season for the brand, where increased listings and marketing investment saw it take the title of UK’s number one burger bun brand. St Pierre, which is part of St Pierre Groupe, is on track to meet ambitious growth targets in the UK.
In January, Tesco increased store numbers stocking the products and added St Pierre Brioche Baguettes to its shelves. Then in February, Morrisons added St Pierre Brioche Burger Buns and St Pierre Brioche Hot Dog rolls both online and in-store.
Sainsbury’s launched the two burger bun SKUs at the end of May this year, with plans in place now to stock Brioche Burger Buns in more than 500 stores and Seeded Brioche Burger Buns in more than 220 stores nationwide.
Paul Baker, founder of St Pierre Groupe comments: “St Pierre is all about providing affordable quality. Taste is key in bakery and we are providing a product that is superior in taste, texture and flavour. Retailers need suppliers who offer quality products because that’s what consumers want now, more than ever.
“Moreover, as a brand, consumers trust us to provide easy inspiration. Brioche is a simple way to upgrade a meal and we drive that message through all our communications channels – whether it’s on pack or via social media.
“Recent research demonstrates that shoppers are using our products beyond ‘burgers’, incorporating brioche into breakfast, lunch and dinner. As we move into the next quarter, this is key. Shoppers are voting with their feet to highlight that our products are not seasonally limited. Year round, we offer inspiration for every meal occasion and the increase in distribution with Sainsbury’s as we move into Q4 is testament to that.”
The brand plans to drive winter sales with seasonal packaging on two of its SKUs, engaging consumers with new recipe inspiration and removing ‘burger’ from some of its product names to encourage broader usage of the range.
St Pierre UK sales are up 85 per cent year on year[1] and it is the fastest growing bakery brand in the country[2], up 148 per cent in the last 12 weeks. In the US, St Pierre is the number one brioche brand, even outpacing private label sales and the brand has big plans on both sides of the pond.