Galbani

Cheese brand Galbani has launched ready-to-heat mozzarella slices alongside a £2.5m marketing campaign to inspire consumers to “do things the Italian way”.

The NPD comes in an easy-to-open pack with two pre-cut slices, and can be heated in a pan or on a barbecue in two minutes. It was launched in Asda stores this week and will go on sale in Waitrose next week (rsp: £2.19/160g).

Lactalis McLelland, which manufactures Galbani, hopes the product will appeal to vegetarians and flexitarians looking for a protein alternative in a convenient format.

“The launch of Galbani Mozzarella Grill taps into a number of key insights and trends,” said Mike Chatters, sales director at Lactalis McLelland. “Consumers today lead busy lives and they are increasingly on the lookout for quick and easy meal inspirations, seeking easy-to-prepare products with a point of difference.

“Hot usage of cheese is a growing area - in fact, 76% of mozzarella usage is hot, suggesting an opportunity for a bespoke ready-to-heat mozzarella product.”

The innovation comes as Lactalis announced a £2.5m investment in a marketing campaign to promote the Galbani brand, featuring a TV advert that will run from the beginning of May until June. Digital, video-on-demand and social media activity will follow the TV advert across July and August.

“The ad reinforces Galbani’s credentials as an iconic brand, reminding consumers that it has been inspired by Italians for more than 130 years,” said Chatters. “The inspiring and emotional new creative has been developed to establish a strong emotional connection with consumers and is based on the insight that it is always the people and things we love that inspire us the most.”