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Who: Tesco

What: Katsu Curry Meal Kit

Where: Ambient meal kits

When: Launched May 2014

How much: £2.49/440g

Why: Restaurant chains such as Wagamama and Wasabi have helped raise consumer awareness of katsu curry - breadcrumbed chicken in a curry sauce. Tesco is tapping growing interest in this dish with a kit that contains a sachet of cooked rice, katsu curry sauce and panko breadcrumbs. It requires the consumer to add chicken, an egg, “a dusting of flour and a splash of oil” to complete the dish in about 20 minutes.

Consumer verdict: Good presentation and the unusual nature of the product attracted good attention pre-trial, and this rose slightly following tasting. Testers said they appreciated the “lovely, fluffy” rice and “nice mix and good strength of flavours.” There were a few concerns, however, with some testers commenting on a lack of spiciness and another suggesting the product had a “strange aftertaste.” Overall, the kit achieved a score seven points above the category norm, and 39% of respondents said they expected to buy the product at least monthly.

Pre-trial purchase: 45%

Post-trial purchase: 47%

Better than what’s out there: 36%

New and different: 68%

Overall score: 37/50

What is Fast Foodfax?

It is a subscriber service that has been running for more than 30 years, offering consumer assessments of new products and allowing comparisons with more than 17,000 products from our database. It is objective, impartial and totally independent, and each product is assessed using original consumer feedback from respondents across the UK. See here for further information.

Fast Foodfax is prepared by Cambridge Market Research , which works closely with The Grocer magazine on a variety of projects including the consumer judging element of the The Grocer’s Own-label Food & Drink Awards and New Product Awards. 

Tel. 01223 492 050 Email: Info@CambridgeMR.com

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