Waitrose has expanded its Easy To Cook range of ready meals as it targets shoppers looking for “convenience” and “comfort”.
It has added 19 new products to the range, which now spans 36 lines in total.
Waitrose had updated the offer in response to what it claimed was an increased demand among customers looking for autumn-inspired “classic comfort foods” during the rainy summer this year. Searches for the phrase “easy to cook” had also increased up to 276% over the last month on its website, Waitrose said.
Among the new products is a Waitrose Roast Chicken Dinner (rsp: £6.50), Waitrose Gammon Steaks with cheese rarebit melt (rsp: £5.00) and Waitrose Spicy Pork Shoulder Curry (rsp: £6.50).
“Our Easy to Cook range focuses on providing our customers with quick and healthy meals that require less prep,” said Simona Cohen-Vida-Welsh, Waitrose product developer. “With 36 meals now in the range, we know our customers will find something they love.
“The ingredients in the dishes are all sourced from our known and trusted suppliers – for example, the smoked haddock in our new Smoked Haddock & Cod Gratin is responsibly sourced from the same smokery that supplies our fish service counters, allowing us to maintain the same high quality and standards that our customers expect from us.”
See the full range here: Waitrose expands its ready meal range with 19 new dishes
Other products include Waitrose Middle Eastern Inspired Spiced Beef Koftas (rsp: £5.00), Waitrose Scottish Salmon En Croûte (rsp: £6.50) and Waitrose Salmon & Sweet Potato Curry (rsp: £7.50).
Waitrose is offering the products as part of its Fuss Free Meal Deal, which offers one main and two side dishes for £8. The introductory offer runs between 31 July and 27 August.
It’s the latest in a swathe of recent NPD from Waitrose, which continues to refine its offer in a bid to attract more customers back to its stores, following the return to profit of owner John Lewis Partnership in March.
In June, Waitrose relaunched its premium own-label No.1 range. It followed the launch of an exclusive line of sauces, pastes and spice mixes in partnership with the chef Yotam Ottolenghi in April.
The innovation comes alongside an ongoing store renovation plan, which will see the retailer invest £1bn into modernising and expanding its store footprint over the next three years.
The strategy appears to be working. Waitrose gained market share for the first time since January 2022, according to Kantar’s latest 12-week grocery market share update. The 0.1 percentage point rise nudged its total market share to 4.5% during the period to 7 July. Spending at Waitrose stores rose by 3.3% in that time.
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