GRACE
CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY WITH MAJOR MARKETING DRIVE
Grace
Foods UK, the UK’s leading supplier of Caribbean food and drink*1,
is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with a raft of
marketing activity, including its biggest ever new product development drive.
In
addition to major brand developments, the company has pledged to raise £10,000
for charity, with £5,000 being donated to both GroceryAid, which supports
people in the grocery industry, and The Angel Foundation, a UK-based charity
which provides the health care sector in Jamaica with much-needed medical
equipment.
“We’re
marking our 10th anniversary, and the 95th anniversary of
our parent company GraceKennedy, with a year-long programme that will excite
people who already enjoy Caribbean food and drink, but we’re also confident
that it will attract new shoppers to what is already one of the most dynamic
sectors of the world foods market,” says Adam Reader, Grace Foods UK’s Managing
Director.
The NPD programme will be spearheaded by Encona, the UK’s no.1 hot pepper sauce brand*2, with the launch of a limited edition Carolina Reaper Chilli Sauce; the hottest ever to be produced by a mainstream table sauce brand.
Launching
in April with a bold ‘heat warning’, the sauce will be available in 142ml glass
bottle format (RRP £1.49/case sizes of 6), featuring the Carolina Reaper
chilli, blended with tomatoes, garlic, cumin and orange to create a
well-rounded, fiery and fruity flavour.
“This is the hottest Encona sauce ever and
will enable retailers to tap into consumer demand for sauces that are full of
flavour and hotter than ever. The ‘get it while it’s here’ appeal of a limited
edition sauce will generate additional consumer interest,” adds Reader.
The
NPD programme also sees the introduction in April of two new products,
Pepperpot Soup Mix and Tomato & Chilli Soup Mix, to Grace Foods’ packet
soups range. Both are free of artificial flavours, colours and preservatives.
The
soups’ launch coincides with Grace Foods broadening its scratch-cooking range with
the introduction of two new products, Chickpeas and Lentils, boosting the UK’s
favourite canned pulses range which is already growing at 32% year-on-year*3.
Later
in the year, Grace Foods will also be unveiling new variants and pack formats
of its fast-growing Grace Coconut Water range along with new pack designs for
its gluten free, high fibre plantain chips.
In
addition, the Grace Aloe Vera drinks range will feature in a major marketing
drive, as will Nurishment, the UK’s No. 1 nutritionally enriched milk drink,
following the recent relaunch of Nurishment Extra.
“The category boosting NPD, and other anniversary activity, will strengthen our position as the UK’s leading supplier of Caribbean food and drink, enthuse shoppers and drive them to the world foods fixture in record numbers. These are really exciting times for us, our trading partners and everyone who will enjoy Caribbean food and drink this year,” adds Reader.
Sources:
*1IRI
UK Caribbean Food and Drink – Retail Sales, Period MAT 52 w/e 31st
December 2016
*2 IRI UK Table Sauces, Unit Sales, MAT 52 w/e 30th January 2017
*3 IRI UK
Caribbean Food & Drink, Value Sales (Major
Mults) w/e 28th Jan 2017