A SUPERMARKET giant has unveiled a massive shake-up to its bakery counters in a move set to rival high street giants Greggs and Pret.
Asda has launched a “bake on the shop floor” model, bringing ovens directly into smaller Asda Express stores for the first time.
2
2
The new set-up means fresh pastries can now be baked on site in shops from Romford and Sandy Lodge in London to Worsley in Manchester and Pride Park in Derby.
The full list of stores with the equipment is:
- Pinewood, Reading
- St Kews, Cornwall
- Discover Park, Kent
- Hog’s Back, Surrey
- Romford, Greater London
- Anchorsholme, Blackpool
- Runcorn, Cheshire
- Pride Park, Derby
- Sandy Lodge, London
- Worsley, Manchester
The aim is to bring fresh pastries and baked goods to smaller Asda stores that were previously without a fresh bakery section.
The updated menu includes cinnamon swirls, pain au raisin, shortbread and brownies, alongside new additions such as a pesto and parmesan swirl, cheese croissant and the limited-edition Sicilian lemon Danish topped with meringue.
Trending flavours like the Biscoff croissant are also part of the line-up, and all are baked fresh each morning.
On top of that, last month a new single-serve pastry and cake fixture was rolled out to 109 Asda branches nationwide, giving shoppers the chance to grab sweet and savoury treats from just 38p.
The range caters for breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks, with classics like all-butter croissants and pain au chocolat priced at just 53p.
This made Asda up to 80% cheaper than rival high street bakeries charging nearly £3.
To highlight the savings, Asda even commissioned a giant version of its croissant, five times the size of the normal one, after finding almost half of shoppers say they avoid pastries because they’re too expensive elsewhere.
Lauren Severn, Asda’s in-store morning goods buyer, said: “With the growing demand for food on the go, we’re excited to launch a wide variety of delicious, sweet and savoury single-serve pastries.
“Whether customers are popping in for a mid-morning snack or afternoon pick-me-up, we have an extensive range of great quality products at outstanding market-leading prices – now that’s Asda Price.”
The move comes as supermarkets across the UK compete to win over bakery fans.
Greggs and Pret dominate the food-on-the-go market with freshly baked pastries, sandwiches and snacks that customers grab while commuting or on lunch breaks.
Both brands are built around convenience, affordability, and the lure of something hot and fresh.
By installing “bake on the shop floor” equipment in its Express stores and launching single-serve pastries from as little as 38p, Asda is moving into that same space.
Asda is targeting smaller Express branches in city areas like London and Manchester, which are the exact spots where Greggs and Pret thrive thanks to office workers and commuters.
And now with its baking on-site feature, Asda is recreating the same “freshly made” appeal that draws customers into high street bakeries.
Other supermarket bakery updates
Aldi has quietly rolled out bakery counters to 25 stores.
The budget supermarket first launched bakeries in stores over five years ago and now 25 out of its 1,050 locations have one.
Lidl recently introduced a new summer-inspired item to its famous in-store bakery that shoppers went wild for.
The Strawberries and Cream blondie comes with a classic vanilla and butter Blondie base and is topped with white frosting.
Meanwhile, it was revealed earlier this year that Tesco was cutting roles in its bakery team, as the brand looks to pivot from having staff bake goods inside the supermarket.
The retailer said in January that it would cut 400 roles across its stores and head office, with bakery staff being the most impacted.
However, the the supermarket chain said there would be no change to its bakery range and customers will still be able to access all of the usual baked goods including its Finest range.
In January, Sainsbury’s axed all its remaining patisserie, bakery, rotisserie and pizza counters in its bigger branches.
It means shoppers will still be able to get hold of bakery items like Hovis bread and Mr Kipling cakes, while self-service bread slicing machines will be introduced.
