Leading Asian food brand adds fresh sauces

New fresh Asian sauces

Sharwood?s, the UK?s leading Asian food brand, is launching into the chiller cabinet with a range of Fresh Asian Sauces.

According to the company, the range combines Sharwood?s brand heritage and expertise with a fresh approach to deliver a step change in today?s chilled sauce offering. Sharwood?s claims the chilled sauces category, worth ?50m and growing 7% year-on-year is still under developed and has the potential to reach ?70m in the next three years.

Cuisine diversification will be key to this, it says, as the market is dominated by Italian sauces (80%) while other international cuisines such as Asian, have a limited presence.

?Asian has long been the UK?s preferred out-of-home cuisine, with Chinese, Indian and Thai all appearing in the top five choices,? said Helen Doxon, innovations manager at Sharwood?s. ?However, this has typically not translated into the home, with only curry making an appearance in the top 10 meals. This situation is now changing and we are seeing a move away from ready meals to ?cooking with help? which is altering in-home eating patterns, resulting in a third more homemade curries being consumed in the last six months alone.?

Doxon continues: ?However, consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated with their tastes, wanting the same eating experience at home as at their favourite restaurant. They are demanding a lighter, fresher option which we believe can be delivered most effectively through a chilled proposition.?

Benchmarked against restaurant quality, Sharwood?s Fresh Asian Sauces are available in four classic recipes ? Thai Green Curry, Kashmiri Korma, Mughlai Tikka and Hong Kong Sweet and Sour. With a 15-day shelf-life, the sauces are available in 300g two-serve pouches and will be sited in the chilled cabinets alongside the fresh meats.

The Fresh Asian Sauces will be available in Waitrose and Sainsbury?s from October onwards and will be priced at ?1.99. Advertising in national supplements and the women?s lifestyle and food print media will support the launch, together with an in-store programme of activity and a consumer PR campaign.

Sharwood?s is also launching a range of Fresh Naan Breads on 18 September as part of its move into new categories. With listings in Asda, this traditional accompaniment will be available in packs containing two naans and will be priced at ?1.39.