Asda is hoping to emulate the success of the Iceland-exclusive Greggs range with a range of lookalike own-label frozen savouries.
The Asda line-up, which will be sold from 11 May under its mid-tier Chosen By You banner, will include twin-packs of frozen steak bakes, Cornish pasties, sausage & bean bakes and a four-pack of sausage rolls. All will be priced £1, undercutting the Greggs lines, which are priced from £1.50 to £1.75 in Iceland.
Asda, which admitted its new range was similar to the Greggs products, had been tipped as one of the supermarkets looking to list the Greggs range after the supplier’s exclusive stocking agreement with Iceland came to an end this month.
Greggs’ frozen range has been a huge success since it launched in July 2011, expanding from a single pack of four sausage rolls to 21 products.
Branding experts warned that Asda may find it a tough act to follow. “The collaboration between Greggs and Iceland will be hard to beat,” said Andy Howell, creative director at brand consultants The Clearing. “Asda will have to do something pretty special to overcome consumer affinity with the UK’s favourite bakery.”
Last week, The Grocer revealed that Greggs had shrunk a wide range of the pasties, rolls and doughnuts sold in its stores while pushing up prices. Its breakfast bacon roll has shrunk 18%, pasties and pizzas 5%, chicken subs 6% and cheese and bacon wraps 7%. Greggs admitted it had “reluctantly changed the price of some of our food with very minor increases”.
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