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Product: Hilcona Fresh Cups
Company: Hilcona
Launch date: November 2004


Fresh Cups from Hilcona are targeting consumers looking for a quick snack that is hassle-free and low-cost.

The new convenient pasta and sauce format uses the two-compartment packaging format seen in the yogurt category. One contains pre-cooked pasta and the other sauce. The sauce is poured over the pasta and microwaved for three minutes to deliver a hot pasta meal.

The newcomer, which retails at £1.99, contains no artificial colouring or flavours and no preservatives, only natural ingredients.

“Fresh Cups is filling a gap in the market as there are very few hot snack equivalents in the UK that meet all the needs of the snack category,” says European sales and marketing director Peter Luder. “People’s lives are getting more and more busy and so convenience is paramount, swiftly followed by taste.”

Available in four flavours, the newcomer can be found in Tesco Express stores’ chillers, where sales have been encouraging, according to Hilcona. “Fresh Cups has, to date, had good results in Tesco Express stores and Hilcona plans to roll it out to all major retailers in the UK throughout 2005,” says Luder.

The roll-out will be supported by a comprehensive marketing plan during the year.

The Liechtenstein-based company also plans to launch the Fresh Cups brand in noodles and sauce format, rice and sauce format and soup and crouton lines.