Mr Kipling proves it has The X Factor with £10m tie-up

Premier Foods is aiming to bring a younger audience to its Mr Kipling cake brand with a £10m marketing investment and a partnership deal with ITV talent show The X Factor.

The firm has unveiled a year-long plan to bring a much needed boost to the £952m packaged cake market, where year-on-year sales are growing at just 0.4%.

It includes the creation of its ‘Life is better with cake’ campaign, which will see Mr Kipling featured in TV, cinema and digital ads and partner with radio station Heart FM.

In addition, the brand is sponsoring this year’s X Factor competition, with a number of branded TV spots set to run during episodes of the show. Mr Kipling will also be offering tickets to The X Factor semi-finals as part of an on-pack promotion running on nine of its core lines.

[pull_quote_right] Chocolate and snack brands are trying to promote themselves more as a ‘sweet treat’ in a fun and engaging way, and this is something we are trying to achieve [/pull_quote_right]

Meanwhile, the entire Mr Kipling range will receive updated packaging to give products a more modern look, which are being rolled out to stores from this month.

Jo Agnew, marketing controller for Mr Kipling, said the changes were designed to attract younger shoppers but would not alienate more “traditional” buyers of the brand.

She added: “We have seen chocolate and snack brands trying to promote themselves more as a ‘sweet treat’ in a fun and engaging way, and this is something we are trying to achieve with our latest campaign.”

Ms Agnew also added that Mr Kipling is close to gaining more listings in wholesalers for new four pack case outers on a number of its core lines, adding that it would launch more independent-focused snack packs in the near future.