Bluntly, it costs cold hard cash to keep products cool, and even a little more to keep a virtual iceberg on the premises in the form of an electricity-guzzling freezer. In other words, cool is de facto luxury, de facto premium, and should be seen and merchandised as such.
A lower temperature is a beneficial customer service that should be accounted for – and especially for chilled products welcomed by flustered and thirsty shoppers during the summer months. You are not just selling refreshment; you are soothing brows and calming temperaments with designer temperatures – as well as tickling taste buds with exotic desserts.
Looked at this way, chilled and frozen are luxurious and indulgent categories and should cost a little more – although typically the chilled element of costs is given away free, and the frozen (often erroneously seen as “value” products) effectively at a discount. Premiumisation is one way around this.
Nisa Local in Earlswood near Solihull
Independent retailers in recent years have cottoned on to the fact that the sector is moving up-market in general. One of the indicators of this migration to the higher echelons of the retail league (just as supermarkets have often trended the other way to protect wafer-thin margins and taken on the 'pile-em-high' discounter gospel) has been the investment across the sector in chillers and freezer cabinets.
Indies invested in many metres more of cold-space partly because they were going through a period of mass-remodelling of stores, partly to accommodate the plethora of NPD, which were moving towards more freshness and quality and away from the traditional ambient pantry stock.
Partly also, the capital investment in white metal, glass and compressor tech was because of the surge in energy prices, and traders took the view that buying modern, efficient chill-space would mitigate the effect of higher electricity bills over the longer-term (five-to-ten-year) period.
And this enabled them to notice that cooling things down attracted more footfall and sold products that were adjusting upwards in quality and price (and importantly, margin).
Frozen time
Freezers are time machines, bringing the past into the present and allowing food-forward savings and convenience, and frozen food is shaking off its budget label, emerging as a premium contender as brands innovate to meet changing consumer expectations, industry experts have stated.
The category surged by 12 per cent in 2023-24, raking in over £8 billion in grocery sales.
Speaking at an industry panel, hosted by inventory management software provider Unleashed, Dan Pope, from the food and drink podcast HUNGRY, said, “The UK’s supermarket landscape has always reflected the class system, with freezer retailers traditionally sitting at the bottom and being perceived as lower quality.
"Now everyone is saying that the frozen category is going to get bigger and bigger. You only have to look at the premium brand Crosta Mollica, which has created distinct packaging and designs for its frozen and chilled pizza products.”
Goodfella’s campaign
In January, Goodfella’s unveiled its new marketing campaign, which formed part of a wider brand refresh and saw the pizza brand joining the trend in moving upmarket.
In fact, it marked a complete brand reset for Goodfella’s, with a focus on family, and midweek meals – replacing the "Made with Respect" platform introduced in 2019 – and established a modern reincarnation of the Italian-American family ethos at the heart of the brand.
The campaign was Goodfella’s’ most ambitious yet and followed the rollout of a new logo, new packaging and an improved recipe across its best-selling Stonebaked Thin Margherita and Pepperoni pizzas last October, tapping into a growing demand for more authentic flavours and lighter, crispier bases. Indeed, the number of frozen pizza occasions enjoyed at home shot up by seven per cent and volume sales of frozen pizzas by two per cent year-on-year in 2024 (with Goodfella’s sales up in 10.8 per cent by volume).
Kantar also noted that brands were improving frozen sales with 4.5 million more packs sold while private-label shrank by 9.6 million units – an indication of the premiumisation tendency. And testament to the rude health of the category, Nomad Foods (parent company of Birds Eye, Aunt Bessie’s, and Goodfella’s), reported a second consecutive quarter of volume growth.
“Revenue growth management and productivity programs, combined with favourable pricing dynamics, fuelled margin expansion,” said Stéfan Descheemaeker, Chief Executive of Nomad Foods, highlighting the strength of the frozen food category.
The Goodfella’s campaign was underlined by the brand announced its new position as Official Sponsor of the Irish Women’s Rugby Team.
“The frozen pizza category is growing in popularity, particularly as a midweek meal," confirmed Mike Sowerby, Marketing Director at Birds Eye, which owns Goodfella's.
Of course, frozen means more than pizzas, but as an indicator of the growing power of brands behind the glass, it is a bellwether.
“I think the frozen food category has really innovated, and brands like Strong Roots have played a big part in making frozen food exciting and appealing again,” said Unleashed panel-member Kathryn Bricken, founder of cookie dough brand Doughlicious.
"Personally, I’ve always believed in the value of frozen foods because they help reduce food waste and promote moderation.”
Freezing treats
Ice cream, of course, is a major reason c-store shoppers make a beeline for the freezer chest, and the category has been thinking hard about ways to entice consumers with new ideas for treating and dessert-ifying.
“With summer fast approaching, retailers are looking to ensure their chilled and frozen offerings are right for their consumers," says Declan Hassett, Licensing Manager at Diageo, which offers the range of Baileys Extra Thick, Pouring and Squirty cream.
“Looking at treating specifically, the fastest growing category is ice cream, which is worth £2.3bn, providing a key opportunity for retailers. What’s more, insight shows that shoppers are willing to spend more on treats, so retailers should look to stock stand-out, unique and diverse products from trusted brands that surprise and delight shoppers and encourage them to trade up and try something new.”
Just to concentrate – from among the delicious plethora of icy NPD available – on the latest innovations in the frozen world of sweetness, Unilever is working away with energy, having just launched Magnum bonbon into convenience – individual bite-sized nuggets of choc-coated ice cream (or tiny choc-ices if you prefer).
As Diageo’s Hassett notes, “the move towards premiumisation in the chilled and frozen categories is being driven by bite-size".
The range comes in three flavours: White Chocolate & Cookie, Salted Caramel & Almond and Gold Caramel Billionaire.
Each bite is “the perfect balance of Magnum’s signature cracking chocolate, creamy dairy ice cream, ribbons of sauce, and crunchy inclusions”, and the brand is setting out to lead the growth of the ice cream snacking (specifically sharing) segment.
“Ice cream continues to have huge growth potential and new formats are key to driving this further within the category,” Jennifer Dyne, head of Unilever Ice Cream UK and Ireland, said.
“Over the past few years, we have continued to see consumers shifting from dessert tubs into smaller formats - whether that be portioned tubs, handheld or bite size. More consumers are looking for a small, sweet treat in the evening, or for other snacking occasions such as on the go or at their desk.
“With in-home snacking occasions having grown by 10 per cent since 2019, our new range of Magnum bonbons aims to help drive category growth in line with these growing trends - allowing consumers to enjoy their favourite brands with friends and family in a convenient snacking format no matter the occasion.”
Magnum is also launching its new Utopia range, featuring Double Cherry and Double Hazelnut flavours. Magnum Utopia introduces what is termed “ground-breaking” ingredient marbling technology, featuring indulgent flavours swirled with multi-layer architecture and sauce.
The launch in June is being supported by an ATL campaign leveraging TV, OOH, social media, experiential, audio and more.
Wall’s is also releasing new products designed to attract new shoppers and help drive ice cream sales, and it includes the return of the brand’s UK collaboration with confectionery favourite Haribo, as well as the introduction of a new HFSS-compliant ice cream for Twister.
It is combining forces with Haribo's Gold Gummy Bears to launch a Haribo push-up ice cream, available in a single stick format for the convenience channel. The new ice cream combines silky vanilla ice cream, sweet strawberry sauce and Haribo Gold Bears, with an eye-catching pack design to boost visibility in impulse freezers.
The Twister brand, currently seeing strong value growth of +17 per cent, is adding Twister Mallow, an ice cream that combines sour raspberry and juicy grape flavours with a sweet creamy marshmallow swirl. Ice cream plus confectionery – a developing trend – will hopefully recruit a wider shopper demographic and make ice cream a new go-to sweet snacking option for consumers.
Häagen-Dazs is is getting in on the innovation act this year with its new Stickbars, with best-selling flavours of the luxury ice cream wrapped in an extra thick Belgian chocolate-coating shell that cracks to reveal the sweet treat.
The launch in January saw Häagen-Dazs’ signature flavours transformed into a convenient stick form. For those craving indulgence, Salted Caramel, Cookies & Cream, and (exclusive to Co-op), Macadamia Nut Brittle, will be the new go-tos, while Mango & Passionfruit is ideal for those looking for something fresh and fruity, using a luscious combination of ice-cream and sorbet.
"We want to put consumers first," said Nicole Whelan, Head of Brand. “After lots of hard work behind the scenes – from extensive consumer testing, to working hand in hand with them to perfect our recipe – we’re over the moon with new Häagen-Dazs Stickbars,” Three-packs are available at Co-op and other stores, RRP from £4.25, singles RRP £2.65.
Not to miss out on the innovation party, Mars – which has continued to outperform the overall market in value sales (+two per cent) and notably multipack unit (+five per cent) and value sales (+3 per cent) - has released the Snickers White Ice Cream bar, with multipacks available in convenience and wholesale channels (RSP £2.50).
Mars unwraps Snickers White Ice Cream bar
“Snickers has long been a hero product of our range in the UK, and the white flavour has proved to be extremely popular in other European countries. In Germany, the Snickers White Ice Cream bar runs at 70 per cent of the original Snickers ROS,” said Kerry Cavanaugh, general manager at Mars Chocolate Drinks & Treats.
Tub brand Ben & Jerry’s has announced the launch of two punning new SKUs – Bohemian Raspberry and Brookies & Cream Sundae.
Bohemian Raspberry is a non-dairy music-inspired raspberry SKU celebrating 50 years of one of the pop’s best-known songs. Ben & Jerry’s Brookies & Cream Sundae is an innovative new flavour, inspired by the flavour combination of brownies and cookies.
And certainly worth a shout-out as another frozen innovation are Chicago Town’s new Cookie Bars and Chocolate Brownies, frozen and suitable for cooking in the oven and microwave and directly target those looking to go to town on the Ultimate Pizza Night In.
Meal deals continue to prove popular and Chicago Town’s Pizza Night-in meal deal brings added convenience coming straight-from-the-freezer, with the desserts sitting alongside its Pizzas and Garlic Bread offerings. The Cookie Bars have an MRRSP of £3.95, the Chocolate Brownies £3.95.
And don’t forget the Baileys – representing the cherry (or cream, or even ice cream) on top, and representing extra dessert sales. Baileys is synonymous with treating, with a range of Baileys licensed products available in the frozen and chilled categories, including Cate D’Or Baileys Ice Cream and Baileys Pouring Cream, which drives the most unique shoppers. The brand’s licensed products take the distinctive taste of Baileys Original Irish Cream into new areas of the store, from the desserts and frozen aisle through to the chocolate and confectionery aisle – with the potential to drive up to 20 per cent uplift in incremental sales for retailers.
In the chiller
If it looks as if the frozen section is in an experimental and innovatory mood, the chiller aisle is giving it competition. As summer approaches, soft drinks and milk will grow in demand, but yogurts are also to the fore not only drinks and kefirs but breakfast items as well, and protein features bigly overall.
With 25g of protein, Müller Yogurt & Desserts and Myprotein have extended their recent collaboration portfolio with two new high-protein shakes.
The move sees the businesses further expand into the chilled yogurt and potted desserts protein segment which is growing at almost three times the rate of the category.
Now available, these new yogurt and protein shake SKUs tap into the potential for additional growth by combining Müller’s reputation for fun and delicious products with Myprotein’s expertise in sports nutrition.
“These new yogurt and protein shake products continue the perfect pairing of Müller’s reputation for delicious tasting products and Myprotein’s sports nutrition expertise, allowing us to bring more consumers into the category and drive growth for the entire value chain,” said Richard Williams, CEO of Müller Yogurt & Desserts.
The new ready-to-drink protein shake is available in chocolate and strawberry flavours, packs 25g of protein per 385ml serving, and is low-fat with no added sugar (RRP £2).
Following up the breakfast offer with more chilled protein Nomadic has launched "Power Pots", its latest foray into protein-rich products and the company’s fourth launch of 2024.
The duo of flavours – Chocolate Brownie and Smooth Caramel – feature a combination of vanilla yogurt with granola, plus chocolate brownie or caramel pieces.
Each pot (190g/£1.99 RRP ) features 20g of protein, plus 100 per cent of daily vitamin D and gut-friendly cultures, which all support immunity. This "trifecta’ of ingredients ticks an important box for Nomadic’s core consumers, which it describes as ‘hard-working busy people on the go’ – and who want satisfying, filling, foods which don’t compromise on taste.
Power Pots appear in a similar format as the company’s best-selling Yogurt and Oat Clusters – which have helped Nomadic maintain its position as the No.1 Chilled Yogurt & Desserts brand in Convenience [Circana]. As per usual, each pot also features a trademark wooden spoon!
“These are another part of our line-up that neatly combines ‘power’ – protein, gut health and vitamin D - with great taste," said Michelle Bloom, Nomadic’s marketing manager. "We’re sure these will be a big hit with hard-working consumers looking for both function and flavour.”
Turning to meats, of which there is a multiplicity of chilled offerings, it is big news that Rustlers, the £118 million chilled ready-meals brand, has undergone a total brand refresh, introducing eye-catching new pack designs to boost the appeal of its ore range products in the chiller.
The brand refresh features new opportunities for retailers to capitalise on the growing food-to-go market, making the chilled, market-leading range more relevant to consumers, improving the clarity of messaging on-pack and driving clearer differentiation between Rustlers Burgers, Sandwiches and Subs.
With shoppers increasingly looking for products to air fry, Rustlers has introduced a cooking method sticker on the front of pack, highlighting the quickest, most convenient hero cooking methods with a range of ‘To Your Taste’ cooking options
The newly designed packs will also feature a flame grilled and source of protein sticker, with the breakfast/meatless products having their own standout look, but staying consistent to the overall range.
Elaine Rothballer, Head of Marketing Consumer Brands at Kepak, said: “The vibrant new pack designs deliver much better on shelf stand-out for Rustlers SKUs vs. competitive products and adds an ‘eating occasion’ differentiation to the range, which will make buying Rustlers even easier for shoppers.
“We’re confident that the new-look packs not only strengthens Rustlers’ appeal amongst brand loyalists, but will accelerate growth by attracting new consumers to the brand.”
Rustlers core range includes best-sellers such as the newly-named The Iconic Quarter Pounder, The Ultimate Chicken Sandwich and The Juicy BBQ Rib. Rustlers also caters for meat free fans with The Meatless Maverick and Chick’un Fillet Burger.
Still in the chiller, where such products as salads increasingly are placed (at last!), consumers’ number one healthy eating priority is “eating more fruit and vegetables”, with 28 per cent of people looking to increase how much fresh produce they eat [IGD Shopper]. That means all-natural salad brand Florette is becoming a champion of healthy choice in the chiller cabinet.
Florette is now outperforming the total prepared salads market, with annual sales worth £25m [Nielsen IQ], an increase of more than 19 per cent on the previous year, leading the way in enabling retailers to meet rising consumer demand for healthy, great-tasting fresh food.
And don’t forget the spreading fashion for layering of lots of cool salad straight from the bag on top of hot pizzas (and often folding over), which seems to be in evidence everywhere now – and is utterly delicious.
“Consumers will plan shopping trips in the knowledge that fresh salad products add a natural, textural & healthy element to their meals,” says Polly Davies, Florette’s Head of Category UK and Ireland.
“Purchasing fresh salad is also anything but spur of the moment as 80 per cent of consumers preplan a salad purchase before they set foot instore [IGD].”
Polly says that good quality food is also becoming more important to consumers, so much so that the fastest-growing driver of store choice is “good quality products”, with almost a quarter of consumers choosing a store based on this, second only to store location, IGD (in its Shopper Vista survey) agrees with this premiumisation-related phenomenon.
“When consumers are in store, quality and taste are the two top factors for choosing a product, reinforcing how important it is to give prominence in the chiller to healthy, all-natural products such as Florette,” adds Polly Davies.
Innovative NPD continues to play its part in raising awareness and demand for Florette products, boosted by sustained above the line investment. This includes a summer-long, high profile sponsorship by Florette this year of the Food Network, the UK’s No.1 dedicated food TV channel together with a partnership with both goodfood and olive, the UK’s leading food magazines.
Media support is complemented by a major on-pack promotion, giving consumers the chance to win “Tasty Escape” holidays to one of five destinations and £100 a day can be won for the duration of the promotion.
Florette has a wide range of all-natural salad products to enhance meals and snacks, including Florette Crispy (90g and 140g) which is the biggest-selling product in the impulse channel and seeing strong growth at +30 per cent [Nielsen IQ ] and Florette Mixed salad (125g), the second-biggest product in the impulse channel and growing well alongside Crispy at 48 per cent.
“In addition to taking more interest in food nutrition, we know consumers are now more time-conscious than ever before. Ready-to-use chilled fresh salads are not just convenient; the carefully selected blend of leaves provide the perfect eating experience,” adds Polly.
One last thing before we go, one suggestion to help sales, margins and to carry on the premiumisation project – and it concerns eggs. Americans very nearly faint whenever they see eggs in British shops not sold out of fridges. They think they might die if they eat unchilled eggs, but this is not so. Eggs are fine not chilled. However, the shells are porous, and the longer eggs stand in ambient temperatures, the more dehydrated and less optimal they become in terms of condition and taste.
With all the more expensive and premium egg lines now available, surely placing these in chillers, while sacrificing a little space, would communicate value about the product and its condition, and encourage greater sales of premium egg ranges. Just a suggestion.
Keep cool out there!
