Central Foods is expanding its frozen food portfolio through a new partnership with specialist manufacturer Saxon Foods, adding a range of frozen ready baked jacket potatoes as foodservice operators respond to rising demand for affordable, versatile and customizable meal options.
Loaded jacket potatoes are gaining renewed traction across the out-of-home market, giving wholesalers and caterers another way to build flexible menus around a familiar staple. The new range is designed for schools, hospitals, universities, garden centers, cafes and workplace catering, offering a combination of operational efficiency and broad menu appeal.
Saxon Foods, which was established more than 30 years ago, specializes in plant-based products, including ready baked potatoes and convenience foods for the foodservice and retail sectors. Based in one of the UK’s leading potato-growing regions, the company works with selected growers across Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and East Anglia to source British potatoes for professional kitchens.
The manufacturer operates from a dedicated meat- and allergen-free facility and has achieved the highest BRCGS AA+ certification. Its customers include many of the UK’s leading retail and foodservice businesses.
The new range comprises Small, Standard, Large and XL Ready Baked Jacket Potatoes, allowing operators to select sizes suited to different menu formats and occasions. The potatoes can be cooked from frozen in either a microwave or oven, helping reduce preparation time, improve consistency and limit food waste in commercial kitchens.
The products can be served as traditional dine-in meals, loaded with a range of toppings or incorporated into grab-and-go offerings. For caterers seeking flexible menus, jacket potatoes can also provide a way to create higher-value meals using existing fillings and toppings as operators seek to maximize ingredient utilization and offer value-focused dishes.
Oli Sampson, Managing Director of Central Foods, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Saxon Foods to the Central Foods portfolio. As with all our supplier partnerships, we’re focused on bringing high-quality, trusted manufacturers together with the UK’s wholesale and foodservice sectors.
“We’re seeing renewed interest in jacket potatoes because they deliver exactly what both operators and consumers are looking for. They offer excellent value, can be customised with an endless variety of toppings and work across multiple dayparts, from grab-and-go lunches to substantial dine-in meals. At the same time, they help operators simplify kitchen operations by reducing preparation time, minimising waste and delivering consistent quality with every serving.
“Adding Saxon Foods’ ready baked jacket potatoes to our range gives our customers another commercially relevant solution that supports menu innovation while making life easier for busy professional kitchens.”
Steve Humphrey, Managing Director at Saxon Foods, said: “Central Foods has built an excellent reputation for supplying quality frozen products to the UK foodservice sector, making them a natural distribution partner for Saxon Foods. Our ready baked jacket potatoes have been developed specifically for professional caterers, delivering the consistency, convenience and flexibility that today’s busy commercial kitchens demand. We’re looking forward to working together to make the range more accessible to wholesalers and operators throughout the UK.”
The addition of Saxon Foods further broadens Central Foods’ portfolio of frozen food products, giving wholesalers and caterers access to another established manufacturer through its mixed-pallet consolidation model. By eliminating the traditional requirement for full-pallet orders, Central Foods allows customers to expand their product ranges, reduce stockholding and respond more quickly to changing menu trends.
The Saxon Foods ready baked jacket potato range is now available to UK wholesalers through Central Foods.
Find out more at: https://www.centralfoods.co.uk