Weetabix defies the discounters despite a cereal profit crunch

WEETABIX defied the march of the supermarket discounters last year by tucking into a bigger spoonful of the UK cereals market.

The iconic brand, owned by Chinese firm Bright Food, increased market share to 9.9% from 9.5% despite shoppers turning to discounters like Aldi and Lidl, which sell cheaper alternatives.

Bright Food’s UK-branded sales, which include Weetabix, Alpen and Ready Brek, rose 1.7% but it was hurt by a 12% crash in so-called private-label sales, which it makes for various retailers, due to a price war in the sector.

That caused revenues to fall 1% to £414 million and underlying earnings to decline 2% to £118 million.

Weetabix chief executive Giles Turrell said: “Across the wider market a squeeze on prices offset rising sales of cereal.

Against this challenge we have succeeded in increasing our sales of our brands such as Weetabix and Alpen, with consumers trusting us to deliver best in class nutrition and taste."

Bright Food bought a stake in the group in 2012 and took majority control last year. Since then, shoppers have switched from the big four towards cheaper retailers and brands.

Weetabix, which has an Ultimate Sports Day backed by Mo Farah (pictured), costs £2.39 per box of 24 versus Tesco’s own brand at £1.29.