Premium ready meal brand ByRuby has launched into Sainsbury’s stores, kicking off a new concessions trial.
From November, branded freezers stocking 18 of ByRuby’s ready meal lines will roll out to a small number of select Sainsbury’s stores.
Significantly, the fully branded “standout” vertical freezers will sit away from the freezer aisle, and instead will be placed alongside fresh and ambient products.
The Grocer understands the freezers are being trialled in around 10 Sainsbury’s stores, with a view to rolling them out further if sales go well. The fixtures went live in Sainsbury’s Hendon and Kiln Lane stores last week. More stores, including Penzance and St Albans, are set to follow in spring 2025.
The new ByRuby lines include its Grass Fed Beef Bourguignon, British Chicken, Leek & Bacon Pie and its Three Cheese Macaroni Cheese. Meals cost £5.95 for a single serve and £9.95 for a meal for two. The ByRuby Classic Lasagne and ByRuby Classic Fish Pie are also available in a portion for four, priced at £18.95.
With consumers continuing to trade down from restaurants for big nights in, Sainsbury’s, like other supermarkets, has been ramping up its dine-in and ready meal offer, with a particular focus on premium lines.
It has also been trialling a number of new “mission-based” formats in its supermarkets and Local c-stores aimed at making its stores more convenient to shop. The work includes fixtures that bunch SKUs commonly bought together in the same location in stores.
The new ByRuby fridges are stocked alongside other ready meal lines, including from Sainsbury’s own-label Taste The Difference range, as well as lines from ByRuby’s parent company Charlie Bigham’s.
Since its launch by co-founders Ruby Bell and Milly Bagot in 2017, ByRuby has built an extensive presence across farm stores and independent retailers. As well as DTC, it is also stocked in Booths, Selfridges and Waitrose. The launch into Sainsbury’s marks the brand’s first foray into a ‘traditional’ big four supermarket.
“We are incredibly excited to be launching ByRuby into Sainsbury’s, and we can’t wait to make our delicious dishes more readily available for a wider audience,” Bell and Bagot said.
“Seriously special handmade food, that’s ready when you are. ByRuby makes people feel that a great friend, who happens to be an excellent cook, has filled their freezer for them.”
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