The freezer cabinet received its biggest shake up in years with Enjoy! How has it been faring, asks Sarah Hardcastle Enjoy! was Bird Eye Wall's boldest, most ambitious, most expensive launch ever. The 13-strong range of complete meals, sauce for pasta and accompaniments was destined to re-energise the static frozen food market by presenting frozen meal solutions in a completely new way. Instead of the dull card and plastic boxes usually associated with frozen meals, the majority of the range comes in foil packs with vibrant designs and zingy colours. And instead of jostling for space in the main freezer cabinets, Enjoy! is housed in small upright units specially created by BEW for siting on gondola ends virtually anywhere in store, preferably in the chilled area. The recipes ­ fast-cook combinations with continental flavours ­are a deliberate choice to provide a viable alternative to chilled. The aim of the launch has been to reach younger, higher spend consumers who seldom venture down the frozen aisles, and to create a new image for frozen food as an impulse buy rather than a store cupboard purchase to combat the challenge from chilled. And in keeping with its aims, the range has relatively lofty price points (rsps: £1.79-£4.99). To get Enjoy! off the blocks, BEW has ploughed £20m into advertising, marketing and instore promotion. Has it all been worth it? Is the range achieving what it set out to do and how is it doing? After only four months in the market ­ and skewed by very heavy advertising support ­ it's still too early to say whether Enjoy! is the winner the company hopes it will be. BEW says over 2.5 million packs, worth £6m, were sold in the first 16 weeks. "We're still evaluating sales," says trading director Neil Jones, "but we've achieved 5.1% household penetration in the initial sales period. Consumer feedback has been positive. Some don't even realise it is frozen." The complete meals have been the most successful element, with sales having a significant impact on the overall growth of the frozen ready meals sector [TN Sofres]. Jones says two more complete meals will be launched in September with further launches planned for next year. Accompaniments, which include Mediterrean seared vegetables, potato & leeks, creamy mash, and glazed crunch vegetables, have also been well received. "Feedback has been positive, but we need to do more to explain their role. In some stores we are looking to reposition them back in the vegetable area of the cabinet. But in other stores, they work well in the Enjoy! cabinets," says Jones. The main disappointment has been the three sauces for pasta which, unlike the rest of brand, come in tubs. "Price and usage have been an issue with consumers, so they are being withdrawn," says Jones. Retailers have bought into the idea of positioning Enjoy! outside the traditional freezer with 1,900 cabinets in the multiples and the convenience sector. "We had 92% distribution before launch, which we've never had before," says Jones. Trials are also progressing with Blockbuster video, which has 20 units, plus a few test sites in other video stores and off licences to open up new channels. "Initial results are encouraging and we are doing more promotion to explain it to consumers," adds Jones. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}