Heinz is planning to produce customised ranges and pack sizes for the first time, its UK managing director Stefan Barden has revealed.
In an exclusive interview with The Grocer, Barden said Heinz was already talking to a number of retailers about creating exclusive branded ranges that would “strengthen their own offering” in categories such as chilled.
“This is a major change in thinking,” he said. “Just as we are considering different ways of doing business on the consumer side, we are also looking at the customer side. The key thing is differentiation. We’re saying: we’ll help with your own point of difference in the marketplace.”
Heinz will mainly target
smaller high street retailers rather than the multiples, Barden said. “It is not necessarily something Tesco, Sainsbury or Waitrose would see a need for.” The move, which follows the company’s entry into the salad market with the launch of its Salad Shakers range last month, is also part of a wider bid to refresh the company’s strategy, he added.
It will continue to focus on its core business by “restaging” products such as baked beans and soups and is launching a new reduced salt and sugar baked beans range later this summer, he said.
But it will also be considering the possibility of diversifying into new areas following the early success of its chilled offering and has launched a number of “bets” - small venture-capitalist style businesses responsible for identifying new product areas and directions for the company.
The bets are largely self-financing and run by members of staff who want to take on more entrepreneurial roles within the company, he added.
Liz Hamson
In an exclusive interview with The Grocer, Barden said Heinz was already talking to a number of retailers about creating exclusive branded ranges that would “strengthen their own offering” in categories such as chilled.
“This is a major change in thinking,” he said. “Just as we are considering different ways of doing business on the consumer side, we are also looking at the customer side. The key thing is differentiation. We’re saying: we’ll help with your own point of difference in the marketplace.”
Heinz will mainly target
smaller high street retailers rather than the multiples, Barden said. “It is not necessarily something Tesco, Sainsbury or Waitrose would see a need for.” The move, which follows the company’s entry into the salad market with the launch of its Salad Shakers range last month, is also part of a wider bid to refresh the company’s strategy, he added.
It will continue to focus on its core business by “restaging” products such as baked beans and soups and is launching a new reduced salt and sugar baked beans range later this summer, he said.
But it will also be considering the possibility of diversifying into new areas following the early success of its chilled offering and has launched a number of “bets” - small venture-capitalist style businesses responsible for identifying new product areas and directions for the company.
The bets are largely self-financing and run by members of staff who want to take on more entrepreneurial roles within the company, he added.
Liz Hamson
No comments yet