Suppliers are setting their sights on booming consumer interest in wild game.

David Oliver Fine Foods is rolling out game soups next month in three flavours: Pheasant Mulligatawny - Berkshire Pheasant, spices and rice Partridge Broth - West Country Partridge, fresh vegetables and barley and Persian Venison - Lowland Hampshire Venison, aromatic spices and a touch of chilli (rsp: £3.49-£3.99/600g).

The soups would help attract new shoppers to game who weren’t sure how to prepare it themselves, said Oliver Shute, who co-founded the company with chef David Holliday in 2009.

“People of all different ages are becoming more receptive to game, they like the provenance and where the ingredients come from,” he said. “Sitting down to a whole meal of game might fill people with terror but the soups are a great way of getting people into it.”

The soups follow the launch of three of the company’s premium ready meals into more than 100 Waitrose stores in April and the rollout of four ragus to Ocado.

This month gourmet brand The Potted Game Company won listings for its products, which include potted partridge, trout and wild boar, with Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason. Meanwhile, Pieminister claimed a first for mainstream retail this month with The New Deer Stalker, a venison pie exclusively for Waitrose among major multiples. “We kept seeing smaller producers at farmers’ markets sell out of venison products so we’re trying it out,” said co-founder Tristan Hogg.

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