St Pierre appoints new U.S. commercial director and marketing director to support brand growth
As one of America's fastest-growing bakery brands, St Pierre reports 70 percent market share in the brioche category while exceeding growth across all specialty bread categories.
St Pierre has recently announced record high sales figures, with sales jumping more than 70 percent in 20192 and another 60 percent in 20203. With a $30 million spike in sales in less than a year, St Pierre is reported to be one of the fastest-growing bakery brands, exceeding growth across all bakery categories and brands.3
In response to significant year-over-year growth and a spike in retail sales due to the pandemic, St Pierre has more than doubled the size of its U.S. team in just eight months to provide greater support to its retail partners. Two of the new hires recently came from The Happy Egg Co. David Wagstaff, previously president and chief operating officer at the egg supplier, joins as U.S. commercial director, and Jen Danby, former chief marketing officer, is now the international marketing director at St Pierre.
In his new role, Wagstaff will guide the business teams enabling the St Pierre brand to continue its growth across the United States. Danby, meanwhile, will head up the recently expanded marketing department with a focus on brand building in the U.K. and U.S. markets. She will be responsible for a strategy designed to grow brand awareness and educate consumers through advertising, PR, digital media and shopper marketing.
"Despite challenges caused by the pandemic, we're pleased to report that St Pierre has experienced continued category growth. I believe this is a true testament to the passion and commitment of our small team," said Paul Baker, co-founder of St Pierre Groupe. "Since bringing St Pierre to the U.S. in 2012, we have worked tirelessly to showcase the quality and authenticity of our products while educating consumers on what brioche is and how to use it across meal occasions. At the end of the day, we really just want to help people elevate their everyday meal."
Brioche, an enriched bread made with butter, eggs and milk, has become increasingly popular year-over-year. What once had little awareness in the U.S., now has prominence throughout retail, with brioche appearing in both the in-store bakery, where St Pierre is sold, and the bread aisle. St Pierre is the leading brand of brioche loaves, rolls and burger buns, selling nearly 2 million loaves of brioche in retail last year3. A recent consumer panel showed that more than half of participants would choose to purchase St Pierre's Brioche Loaf and Brioche Burger Buns over the competition.4
Retail sales of brioche grew 71 percent in the 52 weeks leading up to Sept. 1, 2020.3 As the No.1-selling brioche brand in the U.S.,1 St Pierre can be credited for helping to bring brioche into the mainstream and influencing the bakery category overall, as both private label and conventional brands have started introducing brioche products at retail.
Today, St Pierre can be found across the U.S. at more than 8,600 retailers. Easily recognizable by its signature brand color orange, St Pierre products are merchandised in the bakery section of grocery stores. In addition to brioche products, St Pierre also sells croissants and crepes. All products are made in France using classic French recipes. St Pierre is part of U.K.-based St Pierre Groupe, an international market leader in the bakery sector with a brand portfolio that also includes Baker Street and Paul Hollywood. To learn more, visit www.stpierrebakery.com.
1 Nielsen, ACN Report, February 2018 AOC
2 Nielsen, ACN Report, December 2019 AOC
3 Nielsen, ACN Report, August 2020 AOC
4 Sensory Hall Tests Oct 2020, St Pierre vs competitor brands, Purchase Intent
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