Grampian is to take on Birds Eye and Bernard Matthews in the children’s frozen food category - with a little help from Basil Brush.

The company hopes to capitalise on the character’s recent upsurge in popularity to reinvigorate the category with a new range of innovative chicken products.

Ruth Griffiths, marketing controller, claimed there were currently no products in the fixture of real appeal to children: "They are all aimed at parents to buy for their children. We’re looking to bring excitement and innovation to the category with the Basil Brush range."

The reliance on promotion was also driving the value out of the frozen category, said Griffiths, adding that the launch was designed to reverse that trend.

Although Grampian plans to roll out some initial price promotions, a lot of the ongoing promotion will be through competitions and on-pack offers.

See this week’s marketing pages in The Grocer magazine.