Heck has secured new listings in Asda, Morrisons and Ocado for its sausage rashers, first launched in Sainsbury’s in April under its new What The Heck sub-brand.
The rashers, initially targeted at younger consumers, had been “a big success” since hitting shelves, said Heck co-founder Jamie Keeble. They were driving new shoppers into the sausage category – despite the prevailing trend within younger demographics to reduce their meat consumption, he added.
With a tagline claiming the products are ‘Better than Bacon’ their popularity meant they had now been brought under the core Heck brand, Keeble said.
They are available in 97% smokey pork and smokey chicken variants. The rashers are rolling out to the three new retailers now, while its Sainsbury’s listing has also been expanded to smaller stores across the UK (rsp: £3/300g).
The North Yorkshire-based supplier also launched a trio of sausage bombs under the What The Heck sub-brand in April. But despite good shopper feedback, sales had been less successful, leading the products to be delisted over the summer.
Keeble said the What The Heck sub-brand would now be used with future meal launches, while Heck would “focus on the sausage fixture” over the coming year.
“The sausage rashers are the most successful NPD launch we’ve had for many years, so it’s really good news for us,” Keeble said. “It’s captured the imagination of shoppers. This is very much a convenience-focused product, and consumers know exactly what to do with it.”
The success of the rashers had helped the business add more than £1m in sales this year, Keeble pointed out. “We’re now going in the right direction after a difficult few years.”
It comes as Heck has also announced its acquisition of a bus for its local community. The branded bus was designed to transport elderly people to markets and day trips to combat rural isolation and support local business in nearby market towns, Heck said, it will begin operaing next week.
The bus is also available to be booked out from other groups in the community, such as local schools. The idea stemmed from the Covid pandemic when the company began to make door to door deliveries for local people isolated and unable to get out to shop.
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