- Birds Eye is expanding its Green Cuisine range with meat-free variants of family favourite chicken pieces
- Launching in September, three new Green Cuisine products will hit shelves – Chicken-free Dippers, Chicken-free Nuggets and Chicken-free Southern Fried Strips
- During lockdown, demand for Birds Eye’s Poultry range grew by 9.9%[1], while the Green Cuisine brand is now worth £10m.[2]
Birds Eye – the brand leader in Frozen Chicken[3] – is expanding its meat-free offering with the launch of three new Green Cuisine products that emulate the most popular products in chicken; Chicken-free Dippers, Chicken-free Nuggets and Chicken-free Southern Fried Strips. The Meat Substitutes category as a whole has grown 20.5% in value over the past year, rising to 32.5% over the lockdown period[4], as shoppers continued to seek out more plant-based meals and expand their repertoire.
Birds Eye has the market leading share in the meat-based Chicken Dippers and Grills segments, with 69% and 56% value share respectively[5]. The expansion of the Green Cuisine line is expected to attract new shoppers who are looking to experiment with meatless formats of the products that they recognise and love. Using pea protein – a unique source of fibre and iron – the range extension will appeal to the growing number of vegan and flexitarian shoppers, as well as the more health-conscious consumers.
Anne-Marie Gayer, Senior Brand Manager at Birds Eye, said: “Birds Eye has a long-established heritage in producing great tasting chicken products, which can be found in 39.4% of UK households[6]. Our Chicken Dippers are the market leader[7] and a firm family favourite at dinnertime. As a trusted, established brand, we’re well placed to encourage shoppers to experiment with what the frozen plant-based category has to offer – that’s why we’re excited to be launching a range that recreates the taste and texture of our iconic chicken products, but which is entirely plant-based.
“We know shoppers are increasingly searching for new and exciting ways to enjoy meat-free meals, particularly during lockdown where meat free main meals grew by +43% and plant-based main meals increased +50%[8]. Our aim is to make meat-free eating easy; by recreating the most popular chicken in the category, we want bring in new shoppers to the category and show that frozen meat-free can be just as tasty and convenient.”
Launched last year, Birds Eye’s Green Cuisine range has firmly established itself within the meat-free frozen category, seeing huge growth at +2068.6%[9]. The brand drove 40% of category growth during ‘Veganuary 2020’[10], the biggest month ever for meat-free frozen products, worth £16m and up +12%[11]. The range’s success has also seen the brand expand into frozen bakery products, with Vegan Pies, meat-free sausage roll products launched this year, alongside the launch of meat-free mixes for families to recreate their favourite meals.
The new Birds Eye’s Green Cuisine Chicken range are available from September in Sainsburys, Asda, Morrisons and Tesco.
[1] Nielsen, Total Coverage, 52 w/e 11.07.20
[2] Nielsen, Total Coverage, Total Meats Subs, 52 w/e 11.07.20
[3] Nielsen to 28.01.20, MAT TY Value £M
[4] Nielsen, Total Coverage, Total Meats Subs, w/e 11.07.20
[5] Nielsen Latest 52 weeks to 28.01.20
[6] Kantar WPO 52 Weeks to 26.01.20
[7] Nielsen Latest 52 weeks to 28.01.20
[8] Kantar, Food & Drink Usage Panel, 8 w/e 17.05.20
[9] Nielsen, Total Coverage, Total Meats Subs, 52 w/e 11.07.20
[10] Kantar Data Latest 4 weeks to 26.01.20
[11] Nielsen Scantrack to 4 weeks to 28.01.20
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