BIRDS EYE TARGETS FLEXITARIANS WITH MEAT-FREE READY MEALS

• New range of vegetarian ready meals suits flexitarian trend; nutritious meals packed with vegetables and protein, with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives
• Each individual portion is ready in just seven minutes from frozen to offer convenience and prevent wastage
• Digital media campaign will launch in the New Year when people are at their most health conscious

Birds Eye has launched a new range of vegetarian ready meals, with its ‘Veggie Bowls’ set to capitalise on the growth of ‘flexitarian’ diets and provides shoppers with a simple, tasty way to eat nutritious meals. The new range, which includes delicious, internationally inspired modern recipes such as Asian Sweet & Sour Noodles and Moroccan Tagine, will be in store from early September. The four ready meals contain high levels of plant protein while being low in saturated fats, with no artificial colours flavours or preservatives.

With 29% of evening meals now ‘meat-free’[1] – totalling more than 200 million meals – vegetarian options are more popular than ever. Non-vegetarians now account for 59% of meat-free alternative products being eaten[2] and the new ‘Veggie Bowls’ range embraces this trend, helping retailers to capitalise on shoppers’ increasing desire for nutritious meals containing responsibly sourced ingredients.

Each bowl contains two of an individual’s daily recommended five portions of fruit or vegetables, as well as up to 19g of plant protein. The range is ready in just seven minutes from frozen and ensures that shoppers can stock up on vegetable dishes without the risk of food expiring and going to waste.

Alessandro Solazzi, Marketing Manager at Birds Eye, said: “At Birds Eye we know that shoppers are increasingly looking for more vegetable-based meals as they look for ways to reduce the amount of meat in their diet; the Veggie Bowl range has therefore been designed with simplicity in mind to give consumers exciting flavours through modern, recognisable recipes. We are also giving shoppers a convenient option, as the bowls come as individual portions that are ready from frozen in just seven minutes and the customer response to date has been really positive.”

Rolling out across Grocery from early September, the launch of the new range will be supported by a digital campaign including video-on-demand content. The campaign will target shoppers in January when the focus on healthy living is at its peak.

[1] Kantar, 2018

[2] Mintel, 2017