Charlie Bigham’s, makers of posh ready meals, today announced Sainsbury’s will be extending their listings to 300 stores nationwide.
The news follows a successful trial listing in 50 Sainsbury’s stores from November 2011, where Charlie Bigham’s added incremental sales to the category. Six of Charlie Bigham’s ‘Twosome’ dishes will be available across 300 Sainsbury’s stores plus selected convenience stores from 15 August 2012.
The brand famously secured their initial Sainsbury’s listing when Charlie’s team turned up on the pavement outside Sainsbury’s London Store Support Centre one evening and gave out free suppers to 500 Sainsbury’s colleagues as they were going home. Included with each supper was a cheeky card asking them whether they thought Sainsbury’s shoppers would like and buy the food, and if so, to tell the buyer. The dishes had an overwhelmingly positive response with 100% saying “yes” and the brand was on Sainsbury’s shelves a few months later!
The Sainsbury’s news follows a remarkable year of growth for the company, which currently stands as the fastest growing ready meal brand in the UK, growing more than 100% year on year with retail sales of over £12m per year. The Sainsbury’s roll out will see Charlie Bigham’s RSV hit £20m – a fivefold increase in retail sales since the brand relaunched at the end of 2010.
Lisa De Meyer, meal solutions buyer for Sainsbury’s, said: “At Sainsbury’s we’re always on the lookout for new and inspiring suppliers and Charlie Bigham’s has been a welcome addition to our existing Own Label ready meals offering. We’ve had some great feedback from our customers and we are looking forward to seeing similar success when we take the brand into 300 stores this summer.”
