Heinz has taken its Beanz brand into frozen ready meals.
Called Beanz Bowlz, they have debuted three flavours inspired by “international cuisine”: Herby Tomato, Fragrant Coconut and Smoky Chilli.
Herby Tomato is a “Mediterranean-style” stew, made of edamame, borlotti and haricot beans with roasted vegetables in a red wine sauce.
Fragrant Coconut is a “Thai-style” grain bowl with grilled sweet potato, edamame, haricot and borlotti beans on a bed of bulgur wheat, cauliflower rice and wild rice in a “zesty” lemongrass and lime leaf dressing.
Smoky Chilli is a “Mexican-style” chilli with pinto, red kidney and borlotti beans, tomatoes, peppers and sweetcorn, topped with tortilla chips.
Each meal weighs in at under 400 calories and provides two to four portions of the recommended 5 a day.
They contain no artificial ingredients and are billed as being high in fibre and protein.
They have rolled into Asda and Ocado (rsp: £2.50/400g-440g).
Ready in minutes, the meals provided a “perfect solution for a quick, convenient and easy plant-based meal”, said Heinz.
According to Sophie Higgins, head of growth platform for New Ventures at Heinz, there was “an appetite for more products that have the nutritional benefits of beans, which are a natural source of protein and fibre, whilst also being great-tasting”.
As younger consumers were “looking to brands to offer these options in a cost-effective and convenient format”, Beanz Bowls would help “recruit new shoppers into the category”.
Not all of Heinz’s ventures into new categories have been successful, however.
Take its chilled Beanz Protein Pots, which disappeared from sale recently after less than two years on the market – having made just £143k in the 12 months since launch [NielsenIQ 52 w/e 1 January 2022].
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