Birds Eye to launch big eat ready meals for single men
Birds Eye, the frozen food brand, is understood to be ramping up its battle against the chilled sector with a range of “big eat” ready meals, aimed at male consumers.
It is thought that the range, due to be launched in September, will have a number of single meals but in slightly larger portion sizes in a bid to appeal to single male consumers. It is thought that “Big Eat” is being mooted as a potential sub-brand.
The ready meals will receive significant marketing support through the brand’s “Good Mood Food” campaign that has been running over the past year. The latest execution stars former Madness frontman, Suggs.
Earlier this year, the company targeted the healthy eating market with the launch of the Eat Positive range. The ready meals are aimed at consumers that are looking to eat well but not necessarily lose weight (MW February 14). The four variants all contain a specific nutritional benefit, such as antioxidants, as
well as one of the five required portions of fruit and vegetables.
Industry insiders say that sales of the range are “doing okay” but the wider business is struggling. One source adds that the company has also had trouble meeting stock demands. According to Mintel, sales of Birds Eye ready meals have fallen by 37.2% over the past five years. The figures come despite encouraging signs that sales of frozen food were improving, with sales up by 3% for the 52 weeks to September 2007 (IRI Info Scan).
