Findus spearheads Euro drive with TV campaign

Frozen food brand Findus is to return to television advertising after a break of 18 months as part of a marketing revamp by new management.

Nestlé sold the Findus brand worldwide to Swedish investment company EQT. The deal included all of Nestlé’s frozen food operations in the UK and Scandinavia, and fish and vegetable businesses in five European countries, totalling £364m in turnover.

A new management team has been appointed in the UK, led by managing director John Brittain, former general manager of Nestlé’s chilled food division. Suzanne Nagle, former general manager of Nestlé’s nutritional division, becomes sales and marketing director of the new company.

Findus has been producing frozen food since 1945, and has a factory on Tyneside employing 600 people. The business operates several brands, including Lean Cuisine, and sells £80m-worth of frozen food in the UK.

It has just launched a radio advertising campaign through strategic agency The Windmill Partnership.

Brittain says a variety of new Findus products are in the pipeline. The business, which has a European board set up by EQT, is expected to adopt a European marketing strategy, with a central lead agency and local agencies used to adapt creative work.

Brittain says: “We are very excited to have a chance to revitalise one of the UK’s favourite brands. We will not have to scrabble around for funds.”