Pizza adds some pizazz to frozen food

It’s looking frosty in the freezer aisles, with frozen fish, desserts, pastry and potatoes all in value and volume decline leaving pizza the only category to secure growth this year.

But there is a glimmer of hope as suppliers and retailers work to put value back into the category: hundreds of millions of pounds of value if Birds Eye is to be believed.

“Our recent study determined there are eight fundamental consumption drivers for frozen food that are key to unlocking an additional £676m from the category,” says Birds Eye marketing director Steve Chantry. “These drivers include maximising everyday meals and raising expectations for adults, amongst others.”

Unlocking usage occasions, convenience and added-value products have been among the strategies employed by brands this year - and it’s certainly worked for frozen pizza. The category has grown £5.7m - or 1.5% - on volumes up 2.2%. The performance was driven by brands, which account for 60% of the category and grew 4.2% in value on volumes up 7.2%.

“We are seeing some switching into frozen from the chilled pizza category,” says Jan Mckee, head of marketing at Dr Oetker’s frozen division. The manufacturer, which makes Chicago Town and Ristorante, has focused NPD on ‘the big night in’, expanding its Chicago Town Takeaway range with Stuffed Crust Sloppy Joe, New Yorker and limited-edition Pulled Pork variants.

“Big events are key to significant value growth within the category,” adds McKee. “We need to stay relevant and ensure frozen pizza is considered for all key in home occasions.”

Growth in frozen pizza has come at a cost: a drop in average prices as the top three brands battle it out.

“The frozen pizza category is extremely price competitive so promoting brands is key to survival,” says a spokeswoman for 2 Sisters Food Group, which makes Goodfella’s. She notes an increase in featured promotions and deeper deals have helped contribute to the brand’s success, but warns the level of promotion in frozen pizza is not sustainable at its current high levels.

“This is why brands need to create innovation that really meets a unique consumer need,” she adds. For Goodfella’s this has also meant tapping into ‘the big night in’ occasion but the brand has looked to drive value with premium NPD in the form of Deli di Lusso pizzas which create an ‘authentic Italian pizzeria experience’.

But premiumisation isn’t just about posh products at higher prices. “Premiumisation is also about added relevance rather than just added value,” explains Naomi Tinkler, McCain category controller. “Shoppers will pay more for products that offer them a mealtime solution for their particular tastes and lifestyle.”

The focus of McCain’s Real Teatimes marketing campaign was on the midweek family dinner, when the majority of McCain chips are served. It helped uplift Home Chip sales by 23.9% on volumes up 29.2%, overtaking Aunt Bessie’s roasts in the process.

McCain also added value by targeting one and two-person households with NPD including Spicy Peri-Peri Fries, Steakhouse Ridge Cut Fries, Baby Baked Potatoes and Sweet Potato Fries. “Catering for this consumer need is offering a premium solution for shoppers,” Tinkler adds.

Engaging with this audience means overcoming pre-conceived ideas of quality, something Iceland is tackling with its Power of Frozen campaign, launched in April 2015.

“Iceland has adopted a fresh marketing approach that re-emphasises our long-established credentials as the UK’s leading frozen food specialist, and the real advantages frozen food offers to consumers in quality, authenticity, freshness, choice, convenience and waste reduction,” says Iceland joint MD Nick Canning. “Frozen food need no longer be all about highly processed convenience products but about capturing all the natural quality, goodness and nutritional value of foods right from the start.”

Quality is something Birds Eye and Young’s are keen to highlight in the frozen fish aisles and both have scored big with consumers thanks to premium ranges Inspirations and Gastro, both in double-digit growth.

“We are delighted with the consumer response and high repeat rates achieved with Gastro,” says Young’s Seafood marketing director Yvonne Adam. “Gastro is bigger than Birds Eye Inspirations and we are owning premiumisation in frozen fish.”

It is innovation like this that has helped push up average prices in frozen fish by 2%, despite Birds Eye’s core range taking a battering in the price war: although volume sales have grown 5.5%, value is down 0.9%.

“Consumers come to love and trust a product for key reasons such as value for money, and also quality and price, so brands need to be conscious of finding the right balance between the two in order to remain relevant,” says Birds Eye’s Chantry. “Everyday ranges play a significant role in adding value to the category.”

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Get 20% off the full category ranking. Click here and enter discount code NIELSENGROCER