Simplot has revamped its Birds Eye potato chip range and added new products amidst a slowing of growth in the market for Australian frozen potatoes.
As part of the change, The Birds Eye Ovenbake range has been reformulated and improved and renamed the Hot Chips range. Simplot has changed the way the chips are made, reduced the pack size from 1kg down to 750g, and redesigned the look of the range.
It's also added a Shoestring chip product to the range. Simplot has retained its Straight, Crinkle and Steakhouse chips as these remain popular cut types, according to the company.
The launch comes at a crucial time for the frozen chip sector. According to Nielsen, growth in the category fell by 2.3 per cent last year.
“In 2012 the Frozen Potatoes category declined in value sales for the first time in three years,” Nielsen told F&DB. “This was driven by two of the category's major brands.”
And last year, the Birds Eye brand’s main competitor, McCain Foods, raised the stakes in the frozen food category when it bought Sara Lee’s ANZ bakery business.
Simplot said it tested each of the new chips against the old Oven Bake ones and each product in the new range was voted 'more preferred in overall liking' tests.
“All the new Hot Chips measured a big improvement on one of the most important characteristics of chips – their crispiness,” Simplot said.
According to Simplot, it went even further with the testing of the new Shoestring chip, having it sensory tested with over 100 regular chip consumers.
“At Birds Eye we are always looking to improve our products and our Hot Chips range are new and better tasting chips, different to the Oven Bake range,” a Simplot spokesperson told F&DB.
“The new Birds Eye Hot Chips range still uses Tasmanian potatoes and are made at our Ulverstone plant, however, we have changed how we make this range, resulting in a crispier and natural looking chip that's much closer to the consumer ideal,” said Simplot.
“It was rated against other uncoated shoestring oven baked chips in Supermarket freezers as the most preferred. So these chips are different and we are excited by how great they taste.”
The company said all of the products carried a new nutrition profile based on testing of the new formulation, but that profile didn’t vary greatly from Oven Bake.
“The new Birds Eye Hot Chips range carries the Heart Foundation tick of approval except for the Shoestring variety which doesn't qualify due to the thin chip size,” Simplot said.
Simplot has also launched a new style of frozen chip – dubbed Deli Chips – which at $3.49 for 600g is more expensive than the Hot Chip range which has an RRP of $2.99.
According to Simplot, this product was inspired by gourmet foods found in delis from around the world and comes in two flavours: Rosemary, Garlic & Parmesan, and Garlic & Basil.
“The Birds Eye Deli Chips range is an extremely exciting product launch for us. There is currently nothing quite like it in the Australian market,” said Simplot Australia general manager of retail marketing, Tara Lordsmith in a statement.
