Boxed, the premium frozen ready meals range, has undergone a major overhaul after just six months, following its sale to Nomad Foods by William Jackson Food Group.
It sees the brand – part of the Aunt Bessie’s stable acquired by Nomad for £210m in June – shrink its eco-friendly packs from two servings to one, while trimming its range.
The changes, which roll out from today into 243 Tesco stores, were aimed at “minimising unnecessary waste” according to Nomad. “Recognising the challenge of food waste – especially for solo diners – the serves-one format provides a convenient, high quality and great-tasting meal.”
Boxed made its debut in March, launching five variants (rsp: £7/700g-820g) – akin to Charlie Bigham’s chilled lines – in recyclable trays made of sustainably sourced paperboard and produced via a process “largely run by bioenergy”. Each Boxed meal is covered by non-recyclable plastic film, but Nomad said it was “looking to source a suitable recyclable film in the future”.
As part of the makeover, the original lineup has been reduced to four. Smoked Haddock & King Prawn Fisherman’s Pie had been axed because Nomad had “decided to focus on our bestsellers for now”, leaving Tikka Marinated Chicken Jalfrezi with Naan Dumplings; Aubergine & Courgette Parmigiana; Fully Loaded Mac & Cheese and King Prawn, Chicken & Chorizo Paella (rsp: £4/375g).
“This is an exciting time for Boxed,” said Nicola Bates, senior brand manager at Nomad. The switch to a smaller format “opens us up to a new market: busy consumers who seek convenience and flexibility, but still with quality and taste, when it comes to mealtimes” she added.
Birds Eye owner Nomad announced in June that it had agreed to buy the Aunt Bessie’s business, which includes Boxed, from William Jackson for around €240m (£210m) – in a deal that includes a production facility in Hull and about 400 members of staff.
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