In Short

== Softer style ==

Kingsmill has developed a new recipe for its ’Great Everyday’ white bread, which it said has created a softer loaf, following three months of taste tests and sampling. The company said the new product would play "a key role in the brand’s continued success."

== Welsh wizard ==

Demand for Welsh cakes at The Village Bakery, near Wrexham, has soared, after it was named Reserve Champion at the True Taste of Wales Awards, in the category for large producers of baked and confectionery products. Up to 340,000 Welsh cakes are produced each week at the firm’s headquarters in Minera, North Wales.

== Organic growth slows ==

Nearly half (48%) of all organic shoppers will reduce or give up buying organic food in the next year, according to research from Mintel. The value of the market increased an average of 16% a year between 2003 and 2008 to £1.8bn, but Mintel forecasts that sales will dramatically slow. Only 21% of shoppers now search out organic products, compared to 33% who look for locally sourced goods and 26% who pick Fairtrade products.

== Morrisons’ Christmas ==

Value Christmas lines, such as a 1kg iced Christmas cake for £2.99, are selling well in Morrisons’ in-store bakeries, as shoppers look to tighten their purse strings. Conversely, the retailer’s premium Christmas cake, which retails at £14.99, is also breaking all sales expectations, as consumers who normally shop in more premium price supermarkets switch to Morrisons, said trading manager Andy Clegg. Other Christmas lines doing well include a new tear-and-share bread with Wensleydale cheese and cranberries and ’winter spice’ and red currant muffins.