BANG! Curry has secured a spot in ‘BrandsNew’ – Waitrose’s innovation programme to identify and support new FMCG brands.
Four of BANG!’s Indian curry kits have been selected for the ‘BrandsNew’ programme: Madras, Tikka, Korma and Jalfrezi. This is the first time that BANG! Curry kits will be available to purchase from a nationwide retailer following online sales of over 750,000 kits sold in the first five years, with the brand established as the best-selling curry kit on Amazon.
Shelly Nuruzzaman, co-Founder of BANG! Curry, said: “The at-home Indian curry experience has been evolving for the past 70+ years in the UK. First came Patak’s in the 1950’s, bringing curry to the masses with their ready-made sauces, which were simple to heat, and consumers just needed to add protein.
“Then came The Spice Tailor, with wet sauce curry kits, followed by other ‘kit’ products in the 2000’s, becoming very popular because they improved the flavour profile, and invited the consumer to cook and handle actual spice ingredients.
“Now it’s us evolving the market with our dry, scratch curry kits, filling an unmet need for consumers wanting to go all the way and cook from scratch. Cooking with spices is complicated; there are so many different combinations and just the smallest tweak can result in a completely different flavour. We give consumers the ability to create fresh, delicious curry dishes at home, from scratch, but in a way that is straightforward and convenient.”
Unlike typical ready-made sauces, BANG! Curry kits maintain a healthy, all-natural composition and are vegan and allergen-free. The products perform well in terms of HFSS (high fat, salt, sugar) scores compared to other curry kits and sauces, giving them a significant advantage in the market.
Each kit comes in a cardboard pouch containing the relevant spice mix, base mix and dry ingredients. Based on an easy 1-2-3 process – ‘Prep It’, ‘Spice It’, ‘Cook It’ – the kits are said to simplify the cooking process. On the back of each pack are recipe tips from Nuruzzaman along with a QR code, taking consumers through to recipes and ‘how to’ videos.
Steve Matthews, Branded Innovation Coordinator at Waitrose, commented: “Consumers can find some of the most innovative and exciting names in food today within our BrandsNew initiative. We have always prided ourselves on offering our customers something different and high-quality. BANG! Curry is changing the scene of World Foods and we’re exciting to have them on the shelves.”
BANG! Curry kits are now available in Waitrose stores and online as part of the retailer’s ‘BrandsNew’ programme. The kits are on an introductory offer of £1.80, with a usual RRP of £2.25.
NAM Implications:
- Waitrose’s ‘BrandsNew’ Programme can be a ‘doorway‘ into national distribution for brands that might not achieve that status in the short term.
- Bang! Curry appears to complement Waitrose’s dry, scratch curry kits sub-category.
- Repeat sales will prove the point…
