NEW COVENT GARDEN CHUNKY SOUPS

Fresh food specialist New Covent Garden is introducing a major new profit opportunity to the £140 million fresh soup category with the launch of its first ever range of chunky soups, Big & Bold - a new concept in branded chilled soups. The new sub-brand already looks set to be New Covent Garden’s most successful winter launch ever with listings expected across the top 6 grocery retailers. Group Marketing Director Nigel Parrott says : "Big & Bold brings an entirely new eating experience to chilled soups, namely chunky ingredients that are really filling, providing a hearty, healthy meal for one. In addition to New Covent Garden loyalists, we expect Big & Bold to appeal to younger, more urban consumers.”

To create maximum stand-out on the fixture, and to attract new consumers to the category, New Covent Garden is breaking with tradition by launching the Big & Bold range in 450g single-serve pots (rrp £1.89), not the usual cartons. “This is a deliberate move on our part to provide a strong, differentiated design generating maximum shelf stand-out in a very crowded fixture,” adds Parrott. Big & Bold, which can be eaten straight from the pot, is being positioned as a meal in its own right, without the need for accompaniments, targeted at both genders.

New Covent Garden continues to maintain its dominance of the UK’s £140 million fresh soup market. The brand has a 40% value share of the market, five times more than the combined share of all other branded fresh soups.