Health remains high on the agenda and demand for plant-based products is set to boom during Veganuary 2022. It is predicted that 13 million Brits will lead a meat-free lifestyle by the end of 2021[1], providing an even greater sales opportunity for retailers to meet shoppers’ needs for meat-free products.
Trusted brands will prove important in attracting and capturing new entrants to the category, as shoppers look for great-tasting, quality products that they can easily add to their mealtimes. Birds Eye’s heritage in frozen and its trust amongst families has proved important in bringing new shoppers into the category, which has helped to fuel the frozen meat-free sector growth of +50.5% over the last two years[2].
The frozen category presents a great sales opportunity for retailers looking to expand their plant-based offering, and help more shoppers transition to a flexitarian or meat-free diet.
Top tips for capitalising on the plant-based category
- Stock the core formats that shoppers can easily add into their diets. Birds Eye Green Cuisine’s Meat-Free Burgers and Sausages are leading SKU’s within the impulse channel
- Top up your plant-based range with the latest NPD to create a point of difference within your store
- Household names like Birds Eye will attract new shoppers to the category, who look towards established favourite brands for their first experience of meat-free
- Prepare in advance of key calendar occasions such as Veganuary, where shoppers seek out more plant-based meals in a bid to expand their repertoire and experiment
- Talk with your shoppers to signpost your offering, and to learn what they’re looking for so you can adapt
Birds Eye spoke with Premier Gunnislake retailer, Charlotte Southgate about how the Green Cuisine range is becoming increasingly popular in her store and the key SKUs she stocks.
Green Cuisine supporting local communities
Charlotte Southgate was the recent winner of the Birds Eye Green Cuisine Kit Out Your Community competition, which saw her store win £3000 worth of sports equipment for local causes. The competition was exclusive to the convenience channel and helped to celebrate the Green Cuisine brand becoming the official plant-based supporter of Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics.
Over 500 retailers applied, with Charlotte the lucky winner able to give back to her local community through the support of Birds Eye, after a challenging past 18 months.
At her Premier store in Gunnislake, Charlotte spoke to Birds Eye about the competition, the importance of giving back to local causes, and what her local community means to her and her store.
[1] https://www.finder.com/uk/uk-diet-trends Analysis conducted by finder.com
[2] Nielsen Scantrack, Total Coverage, frozen meat-free, w/e 09.10.21
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