Waitrose is in discussions with Warburtons in what could see the bakery brand’s products return to shelves.
Earlier this year, Waitrose stopped selling Warburtons’ products in a row over sales performance which “didn’t meet expectations”.
However, now the crumpet maker’s loaves and crumpets look set to return.
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The upmarket retailer’s crumpet sales had fallen by 15% over the last year, according to a source. This is in stark with the wider crumpet market, which is growing 10% by value.
The bakery’s executive chairman Jonathan Warburton said at the time that the removal of his products from Waitrose’s shelves was “a shame”.
He said it would be “just a matter of time” before the supermarket chain stocked its products again as the pair remain in discussions.
Waitrose said: “We stopped selling Warburtons products a year ago after their performance didn’t meet our expectations.
“We focus on fantastic products at great value that our customers love and we remain open to working with Warburtons in the future.”
Warburton said his relationship with the supermarket has been friendly since the row broke out.
Warburtons has 11 factories across the UK and employs around 5,000 people, producing roughly 780m products a year, including 420m loaves of bread and 100m packs of crumpets.
