Food Brands Group has come up with a way to helptime-poor consumers - a self-heating soup.

Called Mini Quick, the soup is available in spicy lentil and tomato flavours and offers consumers a hot product in just 40 seconds. It is in Tesco and independents from this month (rsp: £1.19 for a 75ml cup).

The soup uses similar technology to Food Brands' self-heating coffee brand Rocket Fuel, launched in 2003. Heat is generated by a chemical reaction between water and calcium chloride held inside the packaging.

MD Brian Chapman said the soup would appeal to consumers with no cooking facilities at lunchtime.