Richmond Meat Free burgers

Source: Kerry Foods

Aimed at family meal occasions, the chilled NPD rolled into Asda last Monday

Richmond has expanded its plant-based portfolio with the launch of a new meat-free burger.

Aimed at family meal occasions, the chilled NPD rolled into Asda last Monday and will be available in Sainsbury’s before the end of September (rsp: £2/170g). The burger is vegan and is made from soya and wheat protein.

The Kerry Foods-owned brand said the move was aimed at tapping into the growing plant-based burger market, which saw sales values jump 116.8% over the summer [IRI meat-free category 12 w/e 12 July].

It also pointed to its own consumer research, which found 88% of its customers thought the product would be suitable for both adults and children.

“Given the roaring success of our Meat-Free Sausages we’re really excited to be expanding our range even further,” said Victoria Southern, category & marketing director at Kerry Foods.

“[We want] to ensure we can cater to a whole variety of mealtime occasions and we’re confident our Meat-Free Burgers will be a hit with shoppers looking to moderate their meat intake and with those looking to try something new from the Richmond brand.”

The NPD follows Richmond’s first foray into the frozen ready meal category earlier this month with two meat-based sausage products.

In The Grocer’s recent plant-based category report, Kerry Foods’ Richmond and Naked Glory brands were found to have been responsible for £7.5m of the meat-free market’s £11.6m growth over lockdown [Nielsen 16 w/e 11 July 2020].

Battle of the burgers: plant-based category report 2020