• By Diana Ascher
• Published 02/1/2013

With a slew of people now taking to baking for the first time after an influx of programmes on the subject, it’s not surprising that people are reaching for more equipment to try out their cake recipes.

According to MINTEL, sales of home baking products reached an estimated £550 million in 2011 due to the nostalgic feeling associated with home baking. A feeling that is reflected in the emerging popularity of programmes such as The Great British Bake-off, Masterchef and the continuing cult following of chefs such as Nigella Lawson, and the Hairy Bakers.

In answer to this public enthusiasm for innovative home cooking, Lidl has introduced 15 products to its listed range, and 12 products as limited edition items with the potential for more lines to be added.

In addition to that, Lidl is currently trialling in-store bakeries in a select number of stores across the country to ascertain if demand is there for freshly baked products in store. If the trial proves successful, the in-store bakeries will be rolled out across all 600 Lidl stores in the UK.

Lidl’s history goes back to the 1930s, when Lidl & Schwarz Grocery Wholesale was founded in Germany. The first Lidl stores were opened in 1973 and by the 1980s Lidl was a household name throughout Germany. During the 1990s Lidl started to open stores outside Germany and today Lidl stores can be found in nearly every country in Europe. Lidl is now well established as a major European food retailer.

Since establishing themselves in the UK in 1994, they have grown consistently and today have more than 600 stores. Lidl takes pride in providing top quality products at the lowest possible prices throughout the country. Besides food they also have twice weekly special offers ranging from Cycling gear to Angling accessories, Computers to BBQ specials. These offers change on a Monday and a Thursday and are subject to availability.

About the Author : Diana Ascher is writing about Cake recipes