Co-op has tailored a range of yuletide delights to cover the festive moments during Christmas and Twixtmas.
Its hero flavour of the season is gingerbread & maple, as selected by executive innovation chef Dai Llewellyn and running through various sweet items including a new mince pie.
“Consumers are short on time over the festive period, so as a convenience retailer, we know that we’re well placed to serve the spontaneous and quick shopping missions,” commented Nicole Tallant, director of Co-op own brand & technical.
Sweet treats have already launched while sandwiches are out at the end of October, and new mince pies in early November. Christmas mains, starters, and party food will be rolled out in early December.
Check out the festive NPD highlights below:
Hog Roast Pork Sausage Rolls
These premium tier sausage rolls feature rich all-butter pastry encasing a filling of outdoor-bred British pork.
Price: £5 (210g)
Gruyère Cheese & Caramelised Onion Crostini
Co-op takes a trip around Europe with these ciabatta bites layered with Swiss gruyère, vintage Cheddar, mozzarella, and caramelised onion.
Price: £6.50 (160g)
Chicken, Ham Hock & Cranberry Pie
This pie embraces festive fare and homegrown ingredients – British chicken, outdoor bred British ham hock, cranberries, parsnips, and carrots with a creamy sauce in an all-butter pastry pie.
Price: £6.50 (500g)
Brie & Cranberry Sourdough Bloomer
Packed with juicy cranberries and French brie, this sourdough has been crafted over 39 hours using a 15-year-old starter dough.
Price: £2.35 (360g)
Brie, Truffle and Honey Drizzle Pizza
Co-op’s new restaurant style, wood-fired pizza is topped with a creamy Bechamel and Salsa Truffina sauce, mozzarella cheese, and Brie, with a sachet of honey to drizzle over.
Price: £5.96 (425g)
Turkey Double Dip ‘n’ Dunk Wrap
Co-op has doubled down on its first-to-market wrap with dip from last Christmas. It has now created a wrap served with two dipping pots – one containing sage & onion gravy and the other rosemary, thyme & garlic crumb. The food-to-go option contains British pulled turkey breast with hot honey roasted carrot ribbons, sage & onion mayo, sage & onion stuffing and baby leaf spinach.
Price: £4.50 (245g)
Beef Wellington Inspired Sandwich
A classic dinner dish transformed into a sandwich format sees malted bread filled with British topside roast beef, truffle mayo, braised red cabbage, sage & onion mayo, stuffing, mushroom duxelles, and baby leaf spinach.
Price: £4.50 (225g)
Festive Wrap and Festive Onion Bhaji Sandwich
Two further food-to-go offerings include a wrap stuffed with British chicken breast, smoked bacon, fried onions, sage & onion stuffing, spinach, and mayo. The sandwich, meanwhile, is made with oatbread bread with a filling of sage & onion bhaji, Christmas spiced slaw, cranberry chutney, apricot & mango chutney, and spinach. Suitable for vegans.
Price: £3.50 (202g)
Classic Panettone
Co-op is bringing in authentic Panettone for the first time to its stores. Studded with plump sultanas and candied citrus peel, the sweet breads are made in the Piedmont region of Italy by a second-generation family bakery and baked using traditional methods. This includes using a mother dough nurtured for over 50 years for a delightfully soft and light texture. There are also smaller chocolate chip versions (100g) for gifting or stocking fillers.
Price: £6 (550g)
Stollen Slices and Black Forest Brownies
The stolen slices (rsp: £3.75, 260g) feature fruited and spiced dough, layered with marzipan and dipped in a dark rum and butter. The brownies (rsp: £3.25, pack of four) are described as rich and gooey with pockets of morello cherry jam, and are topped with cherry flavoured filling and a drizzle of dark chocolate.
Gingerbread & White Chocolate Cakes
Gingerbread sponge cakes topped with a Belgian white chocolate frosting topped with gold shimmer sugar.
Price: £3 (178g)
Gingerbread & Maple Puddings
Sponge puddings flavoured with gingerbread and maple, topped with toffee sauce.
Price: £2.50 (pack of two)
Gingerbread & Maple Mince Pies
These mince pies are made with shortcrust pastry filled with a maple syrup mincemeat and a ginger sponge, topped with crystalised ginger and a sweet dusting.
Price: £2.85 (176g)
Gingerbread & Maple Celebration Cake
A caramel sponge with frosting in the signature gingerbread and maple syrup flavour, hand decorated with caramel and biscuit pieces, malt balls, and chocolate curls.
Price: £7 (702g)
Giant Cinnamon Knots
Made to a traditional Dutch family recipe, these are luxuriously rich and buttery biscuits with a sweet cinnamon sugar crust.
Price: £2.45 (pack of five)
Dining and Cooking