Spicy sausage brand Peperami is making a surprise move into the snack noodle market.
Supplier Unilever UK Foods is introducing Peperami Noodles in 89g blocks in original, chicken, barbecue and hot & spicy flavours.
The entrance of such a huge snack brand should have a significant impact on the £40m block noodles category, where the price per pack is declining as own-label growth continues, according to Peperami.
Marketed as a snack or light meal, the product will be competing against other block noodles such as Batchelors Supernoodles, although Peperami said there would be some crossover into Pot Noodle territory. Peperami is putting
£3m of marketing support behind the product, including television, radio and a door-drop sampling campaign, which begins this month.
Brand manager Iain Brooksbank predicted the noodles would grow the category by up to 14% over the next year. He said target consumers were Peperami eaters as well as those who already shopped the category. “The popularity of Peperami is a great way of driving people to the category.
“It’s an added-value product compared with what is out there already.”
Peperami Noodles consist of a block of noodles with a separate sachet of Peperami slices, with an rsp of 59p.
The product was launched at the Convenience Retailing Show in Birmingham this week, where Unilever UK Foods also unveiled additional snack sausage products, including Peperami Firestick (rsp: 49p); Peperami Dunkers, available in tomato or barbecue flavours (rsp: 89p); and Peperami Canniballs - balls of Peperami wrapped in bread - at 99p a pack.
Sonya Hook & Helen Gregory

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