Ready Pac Foods is making a new splash into specialty foods, looking to tap in on the lasting consumer trends of convenience and value-added appeal. The company has announced it is expanding into the fresh meal category with a new brand: Fresh Prep’d Soup Kits, and Fresh Prep’d Wrap Kits.
“We saw a great opportunity to diversify the company’s offerings and provide consumers with the convenient meal options they are looking for, especially as sales of products in the perimeter of the grocery store continue to grow,” said CEO Tony Sarsam, in a press release. “The new Fresh Prep’d brand falls in line with our overall business strategy to gain market share in the growing fresh prepared foods category beyond salads.”
The new product lines will begin in September, and feature fresh, healthy, and convenient meal options. Each product will boast a flavor profile with delicious, bold tastes, and on-trend flavors.
“In developing the Fresh Prep’d brand, we wanted to create an easy alternative to lackluster desk lunches and unhealthy fast food,” said CMO Galit Feinreich. “With more than 75 percent of households in the U.S. purchasing fresh prepared foods, our Fresh Prep’d options enable consumers to have a delicious, healthy, and convenient meal at a great value.”
With its new brand, the company notes, Ready Pac Foods is not simply expanding into the fresh meal category; the company is introducing its spirit of innovation into the paradigm. Fresh Prep’d Soup Kits are, according to the company’s press release, the first of their kind in the fresh soup category—with flavorful broths, on-trend ingredient combinations, and fresh vegetables that maintain their great flavor and crisp texture. Fresh Prep’d Soup Kits are the only fresh soup prepared by the consumer right before enjoying.
Additionally, Fresh Prep’d Wrap Kits feature high-quality ingredients, bold sauces and vegetables—many inspired by the company’s popular Bistro Bowl® line. The kits allow consumers to custom prepare their wrap just before eating to ensure a fresh eating experience with never soggy, tortilla and crisp, crunchy vegetables, not possible previously with pre-prepared wraps.
Over the past year, the fresh prepared meal category has grown 8.9 percent to $8.3 billion in sales. Ready Pac Foods stated that it hopes to continue to position itself as the leader in fresh prepared meal solutions and give more people the freedom to eat healthier with its move into the rapidly-expanding prepared meal category.
According to Ready Pac Foods’ research, consumers struggle to find solutions that meet their needs for convenient, fresh, healthy, and great tasting meals. Consumers also reported in this research that the options available in today’s grocery stores often force them to compromise on one or more of these important needs—foregoing great taste for convenience, or healthy options for flavor. The Fresh Prep’d brand aims at addressing these concerns, and delivering convenient healthy meals that don’t sacrifice on fresh flavor.
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