Who: Marks & Spencer
What: Veggie Edamame Bean Burgers
Where: Chilled vegetarian
How much: £2.50/240g
Why: Retailers are helping drive the growth of plant-based food and drink. Take-home sales of own-label meat-free and vegan-friendly items are up 20.3% over the past year [Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 12 August 2018], with new and innovative products pouring in to the market. These edamame bean burgers are part of the vegetarian range M&S launched a year ago to coincide with World Vegan Month.
Consumer verdict: Our shoppers were excited by the prospect of these bean burgers, expressing high levels of pre-trial interest. Though some criticised the M&S product for being “too spicy” and “a bit hot”, others praised the “great combination of flavours” and “delicious aftertaste”. Almost half of our panel said the burgers would make an ideal midweek meal. They scored comfortably above the category norm as “a great veggie option” with “excellent taste and texture”.
Pre-trial purchase: 44%
Post-trial purchase: 46%
Better than what’s out there: 49%
New and different: 71%
Overall score: 38/50
Working in own-label? We’ve just introduced The Grocer Own-Label Accreditation Scheme. Under this new scheme all the products we review can apply for accreditation at any time, through a programme of continuous consumer testing and approval developed to help retailers and suppliers promote the best own-label products. Find out more here.
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