Ginsters has taken a step away from its traditional pastry-based snacks with its latest offering Cornish Bara, which is made with a soft bread dough outer.

It is the first time the firm has launched a bread dough-based product, and it has spent the past 12 months developing the range.

Head of brand marketing Andy Valentine told British Baker that the product has required investment in a lot of new machinery at its Callington site in Cornwall, additional staff training, and extensive development work in a suitable dough recipe. The dough does not contain yeast, but does contain baking powder in order to achieve the right aeration.

The range, initially in Flame Grilled Chicken, Spicy Meatball and Hog Roast varieties, has been developed specifically for microwave baking. The Bara which is the Cornish word for bread contains significantly less fat than a standard pasty.

Valentine said the launch was likely to spark a raft of NPD for other dough-based products.

The brand will benefit from a £6.5m marketing campaign, including the launch of Ginsters’ first iPhone app, as well as TV advertising from June. It will be available in the impulse sector from mid-March, and rolled out to the multiples in the summer.

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