NORTHERN Foods promised a boost for its Goodfella’s frozen pizza range today after unveiling plans for new recipes and a TV-backed brand relaunch.
The multi-million pound campaign, which will begin next month, comes as Goodfella’s looks to close the gap on market leader Chicago Town.
Northern said its frozen foods division, which includes Goodfella’s, was now focused on achieving profitable sales growth after its recent decision to exit low margin business areas, such as supermarket own-label pies.
This shift in strategy meant like-for-like sales in the final quarter of its financial year were down 1.8%, although the figure for the year as a whole still increased by 1%.
Northern said the improvement reflected solid trading in sandwiches and salads, while its Fox’s brand moved into second place in the biscuits market with a 10.7% share. According to industry figures, the label is ahead of Nestle and Wagon Wheels firm Burton’s.
Fox’s has seen a revival in its sales performance after a television and online advertising campaign based around cartoon character Vinnie, a cross between a panda and a dog.
Leeds-based Northern said bakery sales lifted 4.1% in the past 14 weeks, leading to a 3% rise for the financial year.
