birds eye breakfast

Birds Eye is entering the frozen breakfast market for the first time in the hope of disrupting the ‘traditional and boring’ routine of cereal or toast.

The quick-to-prepare Hello Morning! range, available from 14 March, comprises Belgian-inspired waffles in plain and cinnamon flavours, croissants filled with hazelnut and chocolate cream, and classic and chocolate chip pancakes (rsp: £1.79). It is rolling out into Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Iceland and Ocado.

Birds Eye expects Hello Morning! to add £9m to the own-label dominated frozen breakfast market by the end of this year.

“There is a huge opportunity for Birds Eye to drive interest in the category and disrupt the traditional and boring routine of cereal or toast,” said marketing director Steve Chantry.

The new products are frozen “immediately” after baking, and take just three to five minutes to cook in the oven, providing the same “quality, aroma and taste” as freshly baked goods, Chantry claimed.

“Presently, any breakfast options in the frozen category are ‘prepare in 20 minute’ choices, which don’t meet the current demands of time-poor Brits. As a result, consumers are sticking to cereal and toast,” he said. “The key point of difference for our new breakfast range is the ‘prepared in under five minutes’ message.”

A £3m marketing campaign kicks off in May and marks the revival of Birds Eye’s ‘Waffly Versatile’ jingle, which rose to popularity in the 1980s. It will include TV, VOD, digital and in-store activity.