New York Bakery Co (NYBC) is moving out of the bagel world with the launch of a packaged soft pretzel as it aims to become an “all-round” bakery business. 

It claims the product is “the world’s first ambient packaged soft pretzel”. There are three varieties in the Soft Pretzel Knots range: original, sweet cinnamon, and Cheddar & red onion, which come in packs of four. Each contains fewer than 150 calories.

They will be available in Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons in mid-September and Tesco and Waitrose in October, according to The Grocer.

Karen Revel-Chion, marketing manager, said this launch is the first in a series of innovations that aim to reposition NYBC as an “all-round” bakery business. The launch will be supported by print and digital ads as part of a £2.5m media brand spend this year.

Revel-Chion said: “Our greatest strength is our brand – it’s well-known for its New York positioning and consumers have told us they believe we could do pretzels – an iconic New York food – really well.”

She added NYBC intended to launch NPD annually with a focus on products associated with New York.