Store-cupboard secrets

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To step into Premier Foods’ Hertfordshire headquarters is to take a trip down memory lane; imagery and marketing materials for brands such as Mr Kipling, Smash, Bisto, Oxo, Angel Delight and Bird’s – to name just a few – line the walls. It feels like peering into my granny’s kitchen cupboard.

Despite the obvious history, however, Premier’s brands are far from consigned to the past; a staggering 96% of UK households buy one of the company’s products each year, and the annual household penetration of its four largest brands ranges from 48% (Batchelors) to 60% (Mr Kipling). Bisto ( 59%) and Ambrosia ( 50%) complete the power quartet.

Keeping track of the activity of many of these brands is Pat Thomas, head of insight for the grocery business (Premier’s brands are split into two main groups: grocery and sweet treats). Thomas has been at Premier Foods for 14 years. Before that, he worked at companies such as Unilever, Mars ...