Karen Dempsey Bird's Eye Walls is stumping up £30m over two years to make Enjoy!, its new range of upmarket ready meals, a regular feature in UK freezers. Enjoy! is pitched as a "meal solution" for adults who choose what to eat at the last minute, who want something decent but can't be bothered to cook from scratch. The 12-strong range includes recipes that are meant to be "exotic but not alienating". The five complete meals (including Thai Chicken and Paella) are bigger portions (500g) than normal ready meals. There are also three sauces for pasta (including Atlantic salmon with spinach in a parmesan and cheddar cheese sauce) and four meal accompaniments (including Glazed Crunchy Vegetables and Creamy Mash). They all cook from frozen in the pan in 10 minutes. (Rsps: £1.79 - £4.99). BEW believes the launch will update its image and help regenerate what has been a rather safe and dull frozen food category. Marketing director Chris Pomfret said: "We have lost touch and we have the image of being old, traditional and childish. This launch will lift the image of the brand long-term." BEW has worked closely with the trade ­ independents and multiples ­ for over a year to ensure that all are geared up for the launch on February 5. Sales director Tony Pearce said that category management has been integral to the strategy from day one. Some £2.5m of the spend is allocated to providing upright freezers "to selected targeted stores that have been checked so that we know they can deliver our targets", according to Pearce. However he stresses that, unlike the impulse ice cream market, there is no exclusive agreement for these freezers. What is particularly interesting about the launch strategy is that it plans to "hunt the consumer". This will involve stepping on the toes of the takeaway market. BEW is seeking new channels of distribution for Enjoy! such as video shops and wine merchants as well as forecourts. A £3.5m teaser campaign breaks on January 24 on TV (10 second ads) and posters. The main 30 second ad goes on air on February 4. The TV ads ­ directed by Ben Warwick who does Nigella Lawson's TV programmes ­ carry the strapline Change the way you eat forever in just ten minutes'. What will really make the difference, said Pearce, is the brand activation in store. Three phases of signposting will lead shoppers to Enjoy! and a sampling campaign will get over three million people to try it. BEW is aiming for 27% trial in the first 12 months and a 40% repeat purchase level. It anticipates that Enjoy! will become a £100m brand in two years. {{P&P }}

Topics