Kepak Consumer Foods, home to the £101m Rustlers brand*1 is launching its first ever vegetarian burger to meet the growing interest in meat free products.
In a category-boosting first for the UK’s micro-snacking market, the Rustlers Moroccan Vegetarian Burger (RRP £2.00), made with chickpea, grated carrot and coriander and served with mango chutney and a yoghurt and mint sauce, has been developed to drive penetration amongst younger shoppers.
Kepak believes its new vegetarian offering has the potential to generate more than £2 million worth of incremental sales.
Adrian Lawlor, Marketing and Business Development Director at Kepak says: “We are very excited about the category growth potential that this new launch offers. With a third of consumers actively seeking to introduce plant-based options into their diets, we feel that a brand as synonymous with taste and convenience, Rustlers can really bring something new to the market, with convenience and enjoyment considered key requirements*2 by flexitarians.”
The new vegetarian burger’s flavour differentiation satisfies the increasing number of shoppers who are experimenting more with tastes, flavours and cuisines, and the 70 million snacking occasions based on enjoying the taste of a product*3. The core target audience for this new launch will be 18-24’s, who are more likely than the overall population to follow flexitarian diets.
The product will be in market from the start of January and will be supported by a Consumer PR, Social Media, Shopper Marketing and launch promotions to drive trial.
The introduction of the Moroccan Vegetarian Burger marks the start of a big year for Rustlers, with the brand “coming of age” by turning 21 in 2020. The brand has continued to show high growth levels with 11% growth in 2019 taking it to £101m.
Retailers interested in stocking the new vegetarian product from Rustlers can find out more at www.kepaktrade.co.uk, @kepaktrade or by calling 01772 688 300.
Sources:
*1 Nielsen Scantrack, 52 WE 2nd November 2019
*2 Kantar Worldpanel Usage & Consumption, Flexitarian Need States vs Total Food, 52 WE May 2018.
*3 Kantar UK Consumer Usage Snacking Panel, May 2018
