Lauren Meadows is Head of UK Brands for St Pierre Groupe, having joined the business as St Pierre UK Brand Manager in October 2020. Prior to joining St Pierre Groupe, Meadows held a range of roles – both retailer and supplier side – covering planning and shopper activation for household names including Iceland, Kellogg’s and Co-Op Food.
Can you tell us a little of the history of your brand?
St Pierre is an authentic European bakery brand. We specialise in brioche, made to an authentic recipe, in France and branded to deliver a taste of Paris to consumers, no matter where they are in the world. The brand started as a ‘white’ label but has been through something of an evolution over the past decade. Now, St Pierre is known for the quality of its products and its distinctive orange shine and as such it is the number one brioche brand in the UK and the USA.
How has the bread and bakery category been performing over the last year?
Bakery is such a fast-paced category – it’s one of the reasons I so enjoy what I do; I’m definitely kept on my toes! ‘Bread’ as a category has been fighting an uphill battle this year. That said, there are some areas of growth that wholesalers are understandably watching with interest. Morning Goods is one of them, up six per cent in the last 52 weeks (Nielsen Value Sales – L52 Weeks Oct 22nd, 2022) – and perhaps most importantly for St Pierre, Rolls – up eight per cent (Nielsen Value Sales – L52 Weeks Oct 22nd 2022).
And how has your brand been performing?
The St Pierre brand is in growth, with phenomenal increases in the last year, with brand sales up 115 per cent in the last 12 weeks (Nielsen Total Coverage to 11th March 2023). St Pierre is the fastest growing bakery brand in the UK and we have broken into the Top 10 biggest UK bakery brands. The brand now has four brioche bun and hot dog roll products in the Top 12 value rankings and has the biggest branded share in brioche at 47.5 per cent (Nielsen data week ending 11/03/23). We have maximised consumer trends, worked collaboratively with retailers and listened to our customers in every setting and our approach in doing so has well and truly put us on the map. It’s a brilliant time to be working with St Pierre – we really do have the best quality products and we’re testing and learning all the time. I’m obviously biased, but we have an incredible opportunity to take the St Pierre brand to the next level and I am really excited to play a part in that.
What are the biggest trends in the bread and bakery market?
Premiumisation is a trend that emerged during the pandemic and shows no sign of slowing down. Shoppers have become accustomed to quality food at home and even in the midst of a cost of living crisis they are looking for ways to elevate their everyday. The reality is, the luxury of dining out and/or travelling will still be out of reach for many – so upgrading certain elements of staple menu items is an affordable luxury.
I believe premiumisation and offering the choice is vital in any category but it’s particularly important in bakery. If you look at other categories – like coffee – they go beyond the ‘good, better, best’ options because it’s such a popular fixture. The same is true of bakery and as a brand, we are working with our customers to offer improved choice.
How is the sweet bakery sector performing? Is it in growth and gaining market share?
The short answer, is yes. Sweet bakery is on the up, but there are sectors within the category that are outstanding. Goods such as croissants, pains au chocolat and brioche, generally, are on the up because they offer an ‘upgrade’ to the usual breakfast fare – and premiumisation is a particularly prevalent trend in the breakfast category. Our multipack sweet treats are ideal for breakfast, but the format is also popular with wholesalers – catering particularly to convenience retailers. We are looking to maximise that growth with our latest reformulation.
At St Pierre, we are constantly reviewing product quality – it’s what our brand is known for. As part of that process, we recently reviewed the recipe for both our multipack Croissants and Pains au Chocolat and decided to make a few changes, simply to give us the best-tasting product. A happy by-product of doing so is that both products are now suitable for vegans. That works to make the brand accessible to an even larger audience and research shows that one in three vegan shoppers are looking for a sweet treat. Now, that audience can enjoy St Pierre.
What is driving the brand’s success and growth?
Our core range of products are our Brioche Buns, Seeded Brioche Burger Buns, Brioche Hot Dog Rolls and Brioche Baguettes are boosting sales. Driving trial of these core range products is key for us because we know, once customers try St Pierre – they will keep coming back. That’s especially important in the wholesale setting because popular, quality brands drive profits for wholesalers. We work alongside customers to develop merchandising solutions that really demonstrate the versatility of our products. From marketing materials, to in-store promotions and presentation with branded shippers, we are delivering stand out and engaging shoppers in a branded experience as soon as they see us.
Our approach is different, and it works because when we win, our customers win, too.
What is the personality of St Pierre?
One of the best things about working with St Pierre Groupe is the freedom to try new things. As a business, we’re not afraid to run test and learn projects – that’s linked to the culture and entrepreneurial background of St Pierre Groupe, but it means that as a marketing team, we are learning all the time.
We are increasing consumer-facing activity in every channel this year, as the brand grows. From in-store merchandising to out-of-home advertising, restaurant collaborations, TV advertising, social media campaigns and everything in between, we have been steadily building activity to peak during the summer months supporting BBQ season. However, what’s key for us is maintaining momentum once summer is over. We are working to carve out a place for St Pierre in the hearts and minds of consumers at times of year where you might not expect us to.
All of our activity is designed to deliver an experience that makes people pick St Pierre in the first place. That approach has reduced the ‘seasonality’ of the brand, too. Because we’re inspiring customers to use our products with different meal occasions and delivering a consistently top-quality product, we keep customers coming back, regardless of the time of year. That’s why we won’t be taking our foot off the gas through Q4 this year, with key campaigns supporting Halloween, Bonfire and of course, Christmas.
Do you have any NPD to talk about?
St Pierre launched five new SKUs into the major multiples in 2022. The brand is fuelled by recognising consumer trends and creating authentic, quality products that cater to them. Last year that approach saw the launch of the UK’s first Brioche Bagel, two new vegan SKUs to cater to the rise in ‘indulgent breakfasts’ with Pains au Chocolat and Croissants, our four pack of Brioche Burger Buns designed to cater to smaller households and St Pierre Mini Brioche Buns designed to meet consumer demand for quality snacking and sharing plates.
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