UK consumer brands group THG has announced a partnership with local food major Premier Foods to push the latter’s Fuel10K products in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) channel.

THG - The Hut Group - is a listed business with consumer brands in sectors including beauty and technology. Its THG Nutrition arm houses the sports nutrition brand Myprotein.

An e-commerce specialist, it said the partnership with Premier, also listed and the owner of major food brands including Mr Kipling cakes, Bird’s Custard and Sharwood’s cook-in sauces, will enable Fuel10K to grow its presence in the complete nutrition category.

Fuel10K is a range of cereal, snack bars and milk drinks which are currently supplied to major UK retailers including Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

THG, based in Altrincham in north-west England, said all products, including the newest ranges, will be promoted in the D2C partnership agreement.

It said the operation will be delivered by its THG Ingenuity business using its “enterprise-grade technology platform and e-commerce management services”. It suggested Fuel10K will also benefit from an “agile fulfilment network that supports consumer demand and brand growth” provided by THG Fulfil, which is also part of the THG Ingenuity business.

The Fuel10K brand was acquired by Premier Foods in October 2023 for an enterprise value of £34m ($41.2m at the time). Since then, new “nutritionally complete” shakes and rice meals have been launched.

Richard Ward, CEO of THG Ingenuity, said: “Supporting brands in understanding their audiences, reaching new customers and entering new categories and markets sits at the heart of what we do. We look forward to bringing our strategic expertise to Premier Foods, supporting the growth of Fuel10K in the UK.”

Sam Vince, innovation director at Premier Foods, said: “Fuel10K is a vibrant brand with a youthful consumer base which is now fully integrated into the Premier Foods family. We’re excited to be expanding the range of products on offer with these great tasting, nutritionally complete meal options, and to be taking them direct to shoppers via this new venture with THG Commerce.”

Fuel10K was launched by UK distributor Fresh Marketing in 2006.