Tesco extends Finest brand into homeware

Tesco is extending its Finest brand into homeware and other non-food products such as crockery, cutlery, cotton bedlinen and towels, gifts, vases and glassware.

Tesco is relaunching the Finest brand with new packaging that uses metallic-based ink to create better depth and shine, and hundreds of new lines. It plans to increase the range from 900 to about 1,250 lines.

Some of the new lines will only be sold during the run-up to Christmas, but if they sell well they may become permanent lines.

The UK’s leading supermarket has already stretched its Finest brand into health and beauty products, such as Silk Creme Bath, Smoothing Body Polish and Whipped Body Souffle, talcum powder, body mist and bath salts.

The Finest range, which was launched nine years ago, is understood to be worth between £400m and £500m a year in turnover.

Rival Sainsbury’s has extended its own-label brand, Taste the Difference, to more than 650 product lines. The supermarket plans to increase the annual turnover for the brand, which was launched in 2000, from £400m to £500m by the end of next year.

Safeway is also relaunching its The Best range next February, extending the brand into new categories.