Sales of bread and free-from products have boosted turnover at UK baker Finsbury Food Group.
The company said today (30 November) that its revenue was up 4.9% on a like-for-like basis for the 17 weeks to 30 June.
Speaking at Finsbury’s AGM, chairman Martin Lightbody said sales of bread and free-from lines had risen by 12.3% on an organic basis, driven by the launch of gluten-free breads. The company is the parent of Genius Foods, which last month started a TV push for its gluten-free bread brand in the UK.
However, Finsbury is the UK-second largest maker of ambient packaged cakes, a business that had been hit as consumers traded down and investors would have been keen to hear Lightbody’s comments on the division’s recent performance.
Lightbody said Finsbury’s cake business, which makes cakes for Nestle, Thorntons and Weight Watchers, had seen its sales grow by 2.5% on an organic basis.
“This increase, which is partially a result of increased promotional investment that we have made, is particularly significant when compared to the wider cake market which has remained flat,” Lightbody said.
