Premier Foods is hoping that a touch of nostalgia will boost sales after revealing plans to bring back the “Little Brown” Hovis loaf.

Robert Schofield, Premier's chief executive, said that the 400g unsliced granary loaf, with the Hovis name on the side, would appear on shelves next month as part of a wider makeover of the brand.

Hovis has been losing market share to Warburtons, Britain's biggest bread brand, for much of the past year.

Hovis last sold the loaf 20 years ago. It was the centrepiece of the famous “bike ride” advertisement in the 1970s.

“It's the heart of the business, yet, for whatever reason, somewhere along the way we decided to stop making it. It's like Coca-Cola without the distinctive bottle shape,” Mr Schofield said.

The loaf will cost shoppers as much as 90p - the same price as a standard 800g Hovis loaf a year ago, before wheat prices started to soar on global commodity markets.

Mr Schofield insisted that the launch was not the latest example of a food company cutting portion sizes to cope with inflationary pressures.
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