Ambrosia and Bisto boost in Premier Foods ad drive

SALES of iconic British brands Ambrosia custard and Bisto gravy have received a boost from a TV advertising drive by owner Premier Foods.

The debt-laden group said yesterday that a focus on marketing drove branded sales 2.2 per cent higher to £275 million during the first three months of the year.

Ambrosia adverts returned to the screen for the first time in more than a decade, while Premier also ran ad campaigns for Mr Kipling cakes, Oxo stock cubes and Sharwood’s Asian cooking range. That helped offset a 5 per cent slide in non-branded sales to £52m, lifting total sales 1 per cent higher to £327m during the quarter.

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Bread sales edged up 0.8 per cent during the quarter, with Hovis bread maintaining its share in a “highly competitive” market. Premier plans to revamp the brand’s packaging by the summer.

But the company is also braced for £75m of lost bread sales, after opting not to renew a low-margin contract. It continues to cut costs and hopes to save a further £20m in 2013, including through previously announced plans to axe 900 jobs by closing two bakery sites.

Premier has been selling businesses in recent years in a bid to reduce debts.