Birds Eye Inspirations chicken breast

Source: Birds Eye

The duo’s launch follows research by Birds Eye, which found consumer desire for a ‘more luxurious proposition’ in the frozen chicken grills market

Birds Eye has become the latest brand to ramp up its targeting of in-home ‘fakeaway’ occasions through the addition of a duo of chicken products to its Inspirations range.

The chicken breast fillet NPD, which comes in two variants – Light & Crunchy and Southern Fried – is said to be “restaurant-quality” and aims to attract new shoppers as a “trade-up option” that will sit alongside the brand’s existing core chicken grills lineup in freezer aisles, the frozen giant said.

Both new SKUs will be available at Tesco stores from next Monday (15 March) with a further listing confirmed for Sainsbury’s from 10 May (rsp: £3/220g).

The duo’s launch follows research by Birds Eye, which found there was a consumer desire for a “more luxurious proposition” in the frozen chicken grills market, it said.

“With a lot of us still spending most of our time inside and longing for the day we are able to enjoy a meal out, we wanted to bring that restaurant experience to people’s homes,” said senior brand manager Francesca Cremonesi.

Frozen assets: frozen category report 2021

“And with the trend for at-home dining and experimental cooking continuing to flourish, we’re confident the new Birds Eye Inspiration chicken fillets will be a real hit with shoppers. Plus, they’re super-convenient and versatile for our family shoppers.”

Birds Eye said it would support the launch with recipe activity on its website.

It comes as the brand grew sales by just under a fifth (£97.8m) to £593.6m [Nielsen 52 w/e 26 December 2020], cementing its position as the largest brand in the frozen category.

The launch is the latest to target the ‘fakeaway’ occasion, whereby consumers seek to recreate out-of-home dining experiences in the home.

In recent weeks, Whitby Seafoods has launched a ‘category-first’ battered scampi product to Morrisons stores, while McCain has launched a seasoned chips trio.