Ilumi Vietnamese Style Beef Pho Rice Noodles
Who: Symington’s
What: Vietnamese Style Beef Pho Rice Noodles
Where: Hot savoury handheld snacks
When: Launched October 2015
How much: Rsp £1.75 for 74g
Why: The free-from category added almost £100m in sales last year, for a total value of £620m [Nielsen 52 w/e 10 October 2015], so autumn was a good time for Symington’s to launch Ilumi, its recently acquired gluten-free brand, into Asda. The range features five ambient ready meals, two stir-fry sauces, a flavoured rice mix and, alongside the flavour tested, three other rice noodle pots: Sweet Chilli, Singapore Style and Tom Yum Gai.
Consumer verdict: Tested by a panel of adults without special dietary requirements, many did not consider the product personally relevant. The bright yellow packaging, though, was considered eye-catching and effectively highlighted the gluten-free credentials. After testing, the spicy and beefy flavours had a positive reception, but the texture of the noodles was variously called “slimy”, “rubbery” and “watery”. This snack was rated highly for health but had limited appeal: just over half said it was “not for me”.
Pre-trial purchase: 23%
Post-trial purchase: 25%
Better than what’s out there: 23%
New and different: 62%
Overall score: 27/50
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