Gary Osborne, Insight & Brand Planning Specialist, Bord Bia - The Irish Food Board
There are few categories which can sometimes seem as uninspiring for consumers as frozen fruit and vegetables. Even the frozen section of the store can be physically cold and uninviting with shoppers wanting to just get what they need and move on quickly. Within this context it can be difficult to stop consumers in their tracks and actually excite them with something genuinely innovative and creative.
Strong Roots, the Irish brand of frozen fruit and vegetables is inspirational in terms of how it has disrupted the norms of this category with offerings that are genuinely innovative in terms of both the products themselves and their packaging design. Positioned as ‘Tasty, plant-based food designed for busy lives’ the range capitalises on several of the Bord Bia Consumer Lifestyle Trends.
The most obvious is of course Health & Wellness where consumers are seeking to optimize their lives by consuming more of what they perceive as better for them and less of what they feel might be damaging. The ever increasing incidences of lifestyle related diseases is the backdrop for this. For example here in Ireland obesity and diabetes rates continue to grow and threaten to become a real challenge for our health services. Many consumers are committed to increasing the amount of fruit and vegetable in their diet as a result.
Busy people also want to lead fuller lives by being as time efficient as they can. Frozen vegetable can serve a real need for convenience. All Strong Roots products are heat and serve making meal times that bit easier. But where the brand has been really innovative is in its approach to packaging design. Bord Bia’s recent shopper insight study on the frozen category revealed that 58% of people think that frozen products don’t taste as good as fresh so Strong Roots has put taste at the centre of its offering with interesting combinations of component products and design that highlights enticing serving suggestions. The website goes further and suggests recipe ideas where the brand’s products are at the centre of the meal.
So how can Irish food and drink companies learn from the success of Strong Roots? In order to maximize their chances companies should focus their NPI on products that address as many of the current consumer lifestyle trends as possible. In addition, they must deliver on sensory experience combining ingredients to create enjoyable and unique flavours that are unexpected. It’s unlikely anyone ever thought they needed a ‘Broccoli and Purple Carrot Bite’ but be honest, don’t you want to try one now?
(Irish Times, 2016) Ireland's obesity rate among world's worst
(Bord Bia, 2019) Shopper Insight Frozen in Ireland