#WBD Blog
Tim Brooks May 4, 2026
Ginsters New Pastry Toasties
The result of almost three years' research and development, Ginsters Pastry Toasties are square pastries designed to be heated in a toaster — a range of Smoked Ham & Cheddar, Tomato Basil & Mozzarella, and Chicken Pesto & Mozzarella, each ready in just four minutes.
With one in three consumers saying they can't find top-quality, value-for-money and convenient hot meal options that are super quick to prepare, Ginsters identified a gap in the lunch options. Savoury pastry is already enjoyed by more than 85% of UK households yet is present in only 23% of in-home lunches.
Launched in October 2025 the range has since been recognised by Mintel as a winner in Food and Drink innovation for EMEA - cited as a product that addresses the need for speedy at-home lunches with meaningful, category-changing credentials. A new BBQ Pulled Pork & Cheddar flavour has already been added and distribution is expanding.
The brand building conundrum. Once you have a clear strategy, brand marketing is about executing a set of often self-apparent and theoretically simple tasks... the challenge is that they usually prove to be difficult and complicated when they contact the real – hyper competitive - world.
Like innovation:
Simple. Find a real need, a ‘job’ people need to do, with an insight at its heart.
Complicated. Build a solution that meets the need and is either cheaper, better or different from the existing offers. And... it fits your brand!
Most innovation fails because the actual solution does not quite build the bridge between the idea and the reality – not enough of the promised benefits are delivered; or the price is not right; or people cannot quite see why they need it instead of their current approach.
Brands facilitate the process on multiple levels but not least they invest in innovation like they mean it and because they deliver the trust that helps people explore new products with permission to try at relatively low risk. In this context #whatbrandsdo loves the visceral simplicity of this Ginsters NPD. A pasty (and Ginsters know about pasties) you put in the toaster that is hot and tastes good. It more than meets the core need or repertoire gap, and it leverages the brand’s existing quality and trust platform. Potentially category changing.
PS We also love the fact that Ginsters is doubling down on its long-term brand building with a new, creative umbrella brand campaign – Taste the Effort - re-enforcing the brand’s personality and pasty expertise.
Tick!
