Mission Foods' assault on the European market began in earnest at Sial with the unveiling of the company's retail strategy for the region. And as far as the UK goes, the strategy will see it adopting a two pronged approach: supplying retailers with own label tortilla chips and branded flour tortilla wraps. Commercial director Neil Greig said the chips market was dominated by Doritos, which was why Mission was going down the own label route rather than trying to take on the PepsiCo subsidiary. But he said the tortilla wraps sector was different: "This is a small market worth about £17m and it's got huge potential. We think it needs a brand to drive the market and exploit that potential." A key part of Mission's strategy revolves around encouraging consumers to see tortilla wraps as an everyday bread product. That's why its range ­ comprising both plain and flavoured tortillas ­ will be stocked in the bakery aisles of shops rather than in the ethnic food section. The products will be priced less than the £1.49 usually charged by the established Mexican food brands, said Greig. And he said the launch would be supported over the next 12 to 18 months by activity ­ including instore merchandising, demonstrations and direct mail ­ that would reinforce the message about the versatility of tortilla wraps. Recipe ideas will also be included on Mission's packaging. "We are in serious discussions with most of the major retailers in the UK and are optimistic of signing up two of the big boys and one or two of the others in the first part of next year," Greig added. Mission has already won retail listings in Holland, Belgium and Scandinavia. And it is supplying branded salsas to Finland and Norway. The tortillas are all being made at the US company's new factory in Coventry which started production in August. The factory has the capacity to produce one million tortillas a day. {{NEWS }}