UK frozen food giant Birds Eye is aiming to build on the success of its frozen-to-oven packaging technology with the launch of a cod product in its Simply Bake to Perfection range.
Rolled out in the UK market in early January, the company’s innovative fish bag, which enables consumers to shortcut fish preparation, has already enjoyed healthy sales.
Through early December, sales of the Bake to Perfection range had reached GBP 15.5 million since being launched in March 2009, Birds Eye told SeafoodSource on Wednesday.
Beginning in March, Bake to Perfection frozen cod fillets with a parsley butter sauce, on sale for GBP 4.49, will target cod “loyalists” and aims to attract another 2.5 million households to the range.
Boosting the launch is a GBP 2.6 million marketing campaign featuring TV advertising throughout the year.
“These products really are must-stock items for retailers with strong margins and guaranteed consumer demand,” said Armen Topalian, trade marketing manager for fish at Birds Eye.
In a bid to create “clearer and more distinct differentiation between variants,” Birds Eye has redesigned the packaging using “a bold color theme” for each fish species.
The Bake to Perfection packaging, which taps into consumer concerns about preparing and cooking fish, is made from a strip metalisized PET/PET laminate that allows for oven cooking from frozen.
“The consumer opens the carton to reveal the silver inner pouch. The strip laminate displays the upper surface of the fish, typically includes a swirl of flavored butter and hides the more unsightly underside of the portion,” said Birds Eye when it launched the line last year.
The buttered fish cooks in the pouch and vents steam during the cooking process while the laminate features a heat-seal coating on the inner surface for quick sealing. Cooking instructions can be printed directly onto the film packaging.
