Ole & Steen cakes launch

Last week Retail Insider attended the central London launch of the Midsommar range of three new cakes from Danish artisan bakery Ole & Steen to mark the Summer solstice and the beginning of the Great British Summer.

Graham Hollinshead, Ole & Steen’s UK MD took us through the collection and also gave a few hints on what might be coming down the line for the famous cinnamon social.

Founded 30 years ago and now with 26 outlets in the UK and nearly 150 in total globally (the vast majority in Denmark) Hollinshead explains that the baker has realised over time that ditching old favourites in favour of new ranges to bring brand new customers in is not always the best way.

So top-selling cake the strawberry tart has not been replaced for the summer as customers were not happy about that change. Instead it has been joined and complemented by the addition of a lighter, mousse-like strawberries and cream cake as an alternative for the hot weather and a nod to Wimbledon. “You have to elevate the core range” he says.

One pastry that is definitely new is the raspberry and pistachio tart and the bakery hope that using on-trend flavours like pistachio will encourage that new to Ole & Steen purchasers in store. “That was a good tasting session” recalls Hollinshead, “You couldn’t hear anything except chewing”.

A main focus is making sure that the new cakes taste as good with a glass of fizz as they do with a cup of tea which aims to maximise the gifting/picnicking in the park potential. The final new cake in the range is a lemon cheesecake served with edible flowers.

However, Ole & Steen is, of course, best known for its great slab of cinnamon bun served in a foot-long box (six portions) known as the cinnamon social. So is it a disadvantage in the summer for a bakery to be so associated with retailing a heavy, winter-spiced product?

Not at all, according to Hollinshead, who adds that this bake is the company’s biggest seller overall by a country mile. Rather like a doughnut it can be tweaked for infinite seasonal variation, he says. “Back at Easter it had mini eggs baked into it, it has multi-coloured decorations for Pride and last Christmas was a mince pie flavour version”.

And for this Christmas? “I’m thinking a lot about Terry’s chocolate orange”. You heard it here first.

Christina Davis, chief cake taster, Retail Insider