Mar 20th, 2024
6 mins
Birds Eye is extending its core range of fish products with the launch of NEW Mini Fish Fingers*. Available from March, the launch taps into the rise in demand for frozen food across a broader range of occasions and brings an opportunity for retailers to unlock incremental sales through the innovation.
Fish fingers are a weekly staple for over half of UK shoppers.[1] Over a quarter of all frozen food meal occasions include fish fingers[2] and they are leading the growth of the total frozen fish category, with strong value growth of +6.8% vs YA[3]. There has been a significant increase in the use of frozen foods in the lunch and snacking occasions since pre-lockdown (+17% and +26% respectively vs 2019) [4], and as the UK’s most loved fish finger brand, Birds Eye is perfectly placed to tap into this opportunity and help drive incremental sales through this launch.
Mike Sowerby, Head of Marketing Fish & Poultry at Birds Eye UK & Ireland commented, “Our classic Fish Fingers have been a staple at the dinner table for generations and are particularly popular at kids’ mealtimes. With the growing use of frozen foods during lunch and snacking, our new Mini Fish Fingers will tap into this demand to provide a tasty, nutritious, and fun mealtime solution for kids while also offering an innovative option for adult sharing plates and party occasions.”
Sowerby continues, “The launch of our Chunky Fish Fingers in 2018 demonstrated that there is appetite to expand our fish fingers portfolio, delivering +37% of incremental sales value to the fish fingers category[5]. Our new Mini Fish Fingers offer retailers a similar opportunity to unlock even more sales.”
To drive excitement of the launch and engage with the target audience, Birds Eye will be partnering with well-loved brand Playmobil. The partnership will include an on-pack promotion that will gift a special -edition bespoke Captain Birds Eye Playmobil character with the purchase of two packs of Birds Eye Mini Fish Fingers**. The promotion will be available from the 1st April -30th June and will be supported by an in-store shopper activation campaign across multiple retailers, in addition to a £2.6M media campaign from mid-April, which will include a TVC, PR, social and OOH advertising.
The Mini Fish Fingers will be hitting grocery shelves from early March, with an MRSP of £3.50***. They are 100% MSC-certified, made from 100% white fish fillet, and suitable for air frying or oven cooking.
Birds Eye Mini Fish Fingers are MSC Certified. At Birds Eye, 100% of our fish portfolio is MSC or ASC certified and we fish responsibly, while helping to preserve marine resources and natural habitats, so that future generations can enjoy fish too. We are proud to work with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) to ensure that the actions we are taking now help protect fish stocks and the world’s oceans and waterways for the future.
[1] Total Fish fingers category penetration 52.8%, 52w/e up to 21.01.2024 Kantar World Panel
[1] Kantar Usage 52 w/e 01 Oct 2023
[1] Nielsen, Total Coverage, 52w/e up to 30.12.2023
[1] Kantar, Usage Panel, Ingredients by meal occasions, Growth in servings, 52 w/e 26th Nov vs Nov 2019
[1] Kantar Worldpanel | Total Frozen Fish | 52 w/e 11th Aug 2019 vs LY
