kiddyum

A new frozen meals for babies and young children is launching in Sainsbury’s.

Kiddyum rolls out to 320 stores next month after securing a listing through the retailer’s Pitch-Up With Sainsbury’s sourcing initiative.

Five products go on sale on 9 August: Cheesy Peasy Pasta, Macaroni Bolognese, Cottage Pie, Fish & Veg Pie and Chicken Curry (rsp: £2.20). The meals are made with British meat and dairy and MSC-approved fish, and contain no added salt or sugar, preservatives, or artificial colours or flavours.

“Consumer confidence in the quality of frozen meals and their understanding of the nutritional benefits of freezing is on the rise, and this has led to a new market of parents who are looking to the freezer for convenient and nutritious meal options for children,” said Kiddyum founder Jayne Hynes. “We are committed to offering parents a genuine alternative to home-cooking.”

“Kiddyum had an innovative product and well thought-out business plan,” said Sainsbury’s business unit director James Bailey. “I am sure our customers will enjoy being able to access such great quality food for their children,” he added.

Frozen food sales are up 0.5% year-on-year by value, with a 1.8% slump in volumes sales of brands driving an overall 0.4% volume decline [Kantar 52 w/e 2 March 2015].

The category also faces challenges in engaging consumers, suggested research carried out for The Grocer by Harris Interactive. A third of the 2,000 shoppers polled said frozen food was inferior to fresh, and 43% said nothing would induce them to buy more frozen.

The proportion of store space dedicated to the frozen category in the big four retailers has fallen from 8.3% to 7.4% in five years [Assosia].