Key Summary
- Premier Foods has appointed Catherine Lloyd as its new chief marketing officer.
- Lloyd will be responsible for overseeing the company's £1 billion branded portfolio.
- Premier Foods reported a positive first-quarter trading update, with group branded sales up 1.2% year-on-year.
Premier Foods has announced the appointment of Catherine Lloyd as its new chief marketing officer, coinciding with a positive trading update for the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year.
Lloyd will join the executive leadership team on 28 July, reporting directly to CEO Alex Whitehouse. She replaces Yilmaz Erceyes, who stepped down in May, and takes on responsibility for Premier Foods’ £1 billion branded portfolio, which includes household names such as Mr Kipling, Ambrosia and Bisto.
“This is an incredible role, looking after some of the biggest and most successful food brands in the UK,” said Lloyd. “I’m really looking forward to meeting the full team and to building on the work they have been doing over the past six years to take our portfolio of brands to the next stage of growth both in the UK and internationally.”
With over two decades of experience in FMCG marketing, including senior roles at Reckitt Benckiser, Boots and Upfield, Lloyd brings a wealth of expertise. Most recently, she served as vice president, marketing & strategy for Northern Europe and ANZ at Reckitt, where she led portfolio strategy and played a key role in implementing generative AI across the company’s marketing operations.
Commenting on her appointment, Premier Foods CEO Alex Whitehouse said: “We saw some excellent candidates as part of the recruitment process, but Catherine stood out because of the depth of her FMCG marketing experience, and the reputation she has for leading and developing high performing teams.
“I’d like to recognise the key role Yilmaz played in helping grow our leading portfolio of brands as chief marketing officer during his time at Premier Foods and I’m delighted that in Catherine we have a brilliant successor to continue that journey.”
The announcement came as Premier Foods reported a resilient first-quarter performance, with group branded sales up 1.2 per cent year-on-year and overall group sales rising 0.3 per cent.
The company highlighted strong momentum in its Sweet Treats division, where branded sales surged 11.4 per cent.
“This was driven by the strength of our innovation programme with new product ranges such as Mr Kipling birthday cake tarts performing very strongly, as we brought to Britain a trend that is particularly popular in the US,” Whitehouse said.
While branded Grocery sales dipped 2 per cent – largely due to unseasonably warm UK weather – Premier Foods continued to grow both volume and value market share. New category sales, including Ambrosia porridge pots and Cape Herb & Spice, jumped 38 per cent, and international sales rose 5 per cent, buoyed by strong performance in Australia.
Acquired brands The Spice Tailor and FUEL10K also posted double-digit growth, with further launches planned this year, including FUEL10K yogurt and granola pots.
“Our Trading profit expectations for the full year are unchanged, underpinned by our proven branded growth model and ongoing cost efficiency programmes,” Whitehouse said.