Meat-free brand VFC has expanded beyond its core frozen offer, with its first chilled products launching in Asda.
The two-strong range includes a chilled variation of its best-selling VFC Original Crispy Chick*n Fillets (RRP: £3.50 for 190g), as well as new Piri Piri Chick*n Wings (RRP: £3.50 for 219g).
The brand noted that the move into chilled is the first phase of a pipeline of NPD, targeting incremental consumers. Innovation across adjacent categories forms part of the brand’s global growth strategy and mission to remove animals from the food chain.
The launch follows a whirlwind 12 months for VFC – including a £6m investment and a raft of frozen innovation. More recently, the company announced the acquisition of the Meatless Farm brand in a deal worth £12m in sales, diversifying the company’s existing plant-based chick*n portfolio across multiple channels.
VFC CEO, Dave Sparrow, said: “This is yet another major milestone for VFC and our unrelenting mission to covert more people into the incredible taste of VFC and spare the lives of more animals. The chilled meat-free category is worth £275m and reaches a different consumer to those in the frozen, making this launch a natural next step in what is set to be a game-changing series of innovation for the brand.
“Our fantastic team has developed a wide range of quality-led products which will position VFC at the heart of more meal occasions, bringing in incremental shoppers to the brand and category, whilst scaling VFC coverage across retail and foodservice globally. We can’t wait to share what else we have in store for our consumers!”
