Quorn Foods has expanded its range of meat-free, Mycoprotein-based products with the launch of two Quorn Crispbakes, along with the reintroduction of Lemon & Pepper Escalopes. The Stokesley, North Yorkshire, England-headquartered company is looking to further build upon success within the frozen category, where it has recorded a 7% growth rate over the past year.
Consumers in the United Kingdom can buy 165-gram 2-packs of Quorn Three Cheese Chicken Crispbakes and Mediterranean Chicken Crispbakes for £1.99 at Morrisons, Tesco and Asda stores. Lemon & Pepper Escalopes, coated with crunchy breading and selling for £2.49 per 220-gram package, may be served in a salad or as a stand-alone snack.
Julian Cooke, the company’s head of category management, commented: “We’re proud to be a driving force in frozen food. Our team is continuously undertaking research and listening to consumers to bring to market the products they most want and further drive growth within the category. We’ve had phenomenal success with some of our most recent launches, and we’re continuously being contacted by customers asking us to bring out meat-free alternatives to classic dishes.”
The November launch followed the introduction of Quorn Nuggets and Vegan Breaded Fillets in October, along with the debut of chilled Moroccan Chicken and Thai Chicken Soup, which are high in fiber and a good source of healthy protein.
“We introduced our vegan range to appeal to a new target audience and in response to a call from vegan consumers to provide products that they can use to create great tasting meals,” said Peter Harrison, marketing director. “The success of the range is testament to how hard we’ve worked to develop these products while staying true to the taste and quality that Quorn is known for.”
Quorn rolled out Vegan Fillets, Vegan Pieces and a Vegan Hot and Spicy Burger to the market last year following three years of intensive new product development to ensure that the products replicated desired taste and quality criteria. They have outperformed expectations, as listings have increase by 120%. Sales for the vegan range have topped £1.6 million and the products have risen to sit within the top 10 most popular meat-free offerings on the market, according to IRI Grocery statistics for the 52-week period ending August 13, 2016.
“Veganism is a sector within the industry that is growing as an increasing number of consumers consider the ethical, sustainability and health aspects their food. We’ll continue to work hard to develop high quality, tasty products for them,” said Harrison.
Aside from the success of its vegan line, Quorn has also seen its wider range praised as The Nutrition and Dietetic Research Group at Imperial College London published findings that revealed eating Quorn products can help fight against obesity and type-2 diabetes. The report found that Mycoprotein, the plant protein in Quorn products that replicates the texture and taste of meat, outperformed chicken when it came to reducing energy intake and managing blood sugar levels.
Quorn Foods’ wide variety of meat substitute products runs the gamut from meat-free BBQ chicken bites and crispy fillets to Cumberland sausages, turkey- and beef-style burgers and fajita strips, to meat-free pork pies, lasagna, Thai red curry, pepperoni pizza, cottage pie, Indian vegetable samosas, toad in the hole meals for one, and man other prepared foods.
