The Birds Eye brand distributed in United Kingdom market has rolled out a number of new Steamfresh offerings featuring vegetables cooked in innovative steam bags. The category leader in Britain’s retail frozen vegetables sector is out to encourage more consumers to stop boiling vegetables, which can lead to loss of taste and texture, in favor of steaming them in the microwave oven. This, combined with adding herbs, spices and sauces, will help change the perception of consuming vegetables from duty to desire, says the Birds Eye marketing department.
Hitting shelves this month, the £5.6 million launch forms part of Birds Eye’s “Food of Life” strategy to promote quality food that livens up mealtimes. With the range expected to achieve £36 million in retail sales value in its first year, Steamfresh is positioned as the umbrella platform for a wide range of vegetable side dishes, driving a new steaming category in the frozen food aisles of supermarkets and other grocery outlets.
Birds Eye is bringing the existing Veg Fusions and Rice Fusions ranges under the Steamfresh platform, and is also launching new pasta side dishes with vegetables, namely: Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta and Creamy Cheese Penne Pasta with Broccoli and Peas. More new products are expected to be introduced over the course of the year.
The range is split into four categories: natural vegetable mixes, vegetables with herbs and spices, fragrant rice with vegetables and pasta with vegetables. The product lines are available in three formats, allowing easy portion control – single serve, pyramid and multi-serve bags.
Birds Eye will be supporting the launch of Steamfresh with a robust multi-media campaign including TV, outdoors exposure, PR, in-store merchandising, digital and sampling. The range will continue to be supported throughout 2015.
Geraldine Phillips, general marketing manager at Birds Eye, commented: “Birds Eye has over 60 years of experience growing and fast freezing vegetables to retain their flavor and freshness. We are pushing new boundaries with the launch of Steamfresh and making vegetable side dishes a really exciting addition to mealtimes.
“Steaming doesn’t just preserve the nutrients – it also locks in the flavor,” she continued. “Using our unique steam bags, we are able to offer consumers a range of tasty side dishes that can be cooked in the microwave to deliver perfect results every time.”
Steamfresh will be available to consumers at a suggested retail price of £1.79, and can be found in a wide range of retail stores, including Tesco, Asda, Morrisions, Sainsburys, Iceland, The Co-operative, Waitrose and Farmfoods.
