New Covent Garden

NCG has looked at using a resealable cap on cartons

New Covent Garden Soup Co is going back into Tesco with a revamped soup range this month - a year after the retailer axed the brand.

NCG has improved the recipes of its 10 core SKUs and launched a six-strong winter range. The revamped products have been rolling out to other retailers in recent weeks and will go into Tesco in the next few weeks.

NCG is continuing to use carton packaging rather than the pots employed by many chilled soup suppliers. However, it has tweaked the design and has considered further improvements such as resealable spouts, though these are not confirmed for rollout.

Owner Hain Celestial will be hoping the revamp and relisting will improve sales, which have fallen 22.5% by value to £39.9m on volumes down 25.7% [IRI 52 w/e 17 August 2013]. NCG has faced stiff competition from own-label and branded rivals.

NCG has also developed a four-strong Skinny Soups range that rolled out last month. The soups offer two of the five-a-day and less than 2% fat per serving.

“These developments further reinforce our position as category innovators,” said NCG marketing controller Rob Dixon.