‘Gourmet’ and ‘indulgent’ are key adjectives in France and the frozen foods space, Gama’s latest assessment of the frozen product innovation landscape reveals.
Tom Warden, editorial director, Gama
Broadly in line with other markets in terms of overall NPD – the frozen sector accounting for 8.7% of all new food and drink launches in France over the past two years, according to Gama Compass™ data – the French market is also characterized by a focus on luxury and references to fine dining and entertaining, with many recent product launches oriented around notions of pleasure and sophistication, albeit with a nod to the convenience agenda.
Interestingly, this general emphasis on superior quality, at least in terms of product marketing, is also borne out by average price points in new products, which, as far as France is concerned, are just 12% lower in frozen food than in food and drink launches as a whole, compared to a difference of around 30-50% in many other major European markets.
Gourmets and gourmands
The fact that frozen NPD in France perhaps does not suffer from a ‘commodity’ status to quite the same extent as some other markets can perhaps be put down to a concerted effort on behalf of manufacturers to position frozen products as being equal in quality and sophistication to their fresh or home-made equivalents, with frequent reference in product literature to both the richness of ingredients and recipes, and the sensory pleasure of the final taste experience. In particular, product positioning in frozen launches is typically anchored around two key principles of French cuisine – that of the ‘gourmet’ and the ‘gourmand’ (the latter loosely conveying the concept of ‘indulgence’ or ‘pleasure’) – to the extent that both terms occur with surprising frequency in both on-pack and online descriptions for a broad spectrum of new product launches. ‘Gourmet’, for instance, is the adjective of choice for Picard Express Festive Duck Cottage Pie in a Block of Duck Foie Gras – “a gourmet dish that is a feast for your spirit and taste buds” – as well as, from the meat and poultry market, in Iglo Chicken Steaks from Nomad Foods, advertised as an ideal component in “easy and gourmet meals”.
Meanwhile, the notion of pleasure and indulgence – “gourmand” – is, if anything, even more pervasive in French new product marketing than that of the better-known “gourmet” – from Dr. Oetker’s Delizza Pizza with an “airy and crispy base… generously topped with tasty ingredients” for “a deliciously unique taste experience”, to the new Marie Seafood Stew that comes with “an indulgent and generous recipe” of seafood, Atlantic salmon and Alaska pollack. Overall, the total number of products described in terms of their indulgence – “gourmand”, “unctuous”, “rich” and similar – accounted for more than 30% of total product launches in the past two years, underlining the extent to which “indulgent” positioning – from “generous toppings” and “melting sauces” to “crunchy textures” and “tasty ingredients” – have now become a cornerstone of new product marketing in the French frozen food space.
A restaurant in the freezer
In parallel to general references to both the “gourmet” and the “gourmand”, a close inspection of product marketing in French frozen food reveals how evoking the world fine of dining and the nostalgia of home cooking has become a favored device for product marketers, in an apparent bid to draw on the collective consciousness of French culinary traditions. Picard, for instance, invited consumers to “imagine being at the bistro” with the launch of its recent Mini Sausages, Lentils and Mustard Sauce ready meal, while another of the firm’s product launches – Picard Pasta Bake with Spinach, Leek and Comte Sauce – simultaneously invoked a modern restaurant setting and the traditions of home cooking, with its ‘chalkboard’ graphics and claims to “capture the essence of one of grandmother’s recipes”. In the same category, meanwhile, Tipiak recently unveiled its upscale Tipiak Prawn and Lobster Bisque, promoted as being “inspired by culinary traditions” and as “an elegant and refined starter that will delight your guests”. On a similar vein, Picard’s Delice D’Un Instant Dark Chocolate Mousse promises “an authentic flavor close to home-made, an irresistible unctuousness and nothing but the best ingredients: dark chocolate, eggs, butter and sugar, with no preservatives”.
One other notable category when it comes to ascribing restaurant standards to new food launches is ice cream, where the artisanal, the luxury and the traditional are frequent reference points for companies seeking to drive value through claims of quality and sophistication. Nestle, for instance, recently embarked on a major revamp of its La Laitiere ice cream brand, unveiling a re-imagined line up of “indulgent recipes” including chocolate with fleur de sel and vanilla infused with Madagascar vanilla pods, as well as simultaneously remodeling its packaging with deeper and narrower tubs that appeared to borrow from the world of artisanal ice cream. Unilever, Nestle’s rival in the French ice cream space, has also been in touch with its artisanal side with the launch of a new Lemon Meringue Pie flavor as a third variety in its Carte D’Or Ice Cream Parlour Style branded ice cream. Elsewhere, even private label brands are increasingly no stranger to the lure of the restaurant, with supermarket chain Carrefour recently expanding its premium Carrefour Selection line of “handcrafted” ice cream to include four new varieties – Whole Strawberry, Guerande Salted Caramel, Madagascar Vanilla and Peruvian Chocolate – that were purportedly endorsed by fine restaurant guide Gault & Millau.
Buffets and miniatures
The area where primary principles of ‘gourmet’, ‘gourmand’ and ‘fine dining’ intersect with another essential pillar of the modern product launch – that of snacking and miniaturization – has also spawns a certain amount of distinctively ‘French’ innovation in the realm of casual entertaining and informal dining, although always with an appreciable emphasis on quality and sophistication.
Two companies that have been especially active in this particular product niche over the past year are chilled and frozen foods firm Tipiak and food cooperative Sodiaal, the latter through a recent investment in a range of buffet and light meal options under its Entremont brand of prepared meals and snacks. Launching Tipiak Mini Emmental Cheese Souffles, for instance, Tipiak claimed to be “revisit[ing] French culinary tradition” and offering a new alternative in the “buffet snack” space. Meanwhile Sodiaal has launched products such as Entremont Cheese-Topped Bread Slices “for a starter snack or quickly put-together meal” as well as Entremont Entremont Emmental & Ham Toasted Sandwich For Sharing – reinventing the traditional ‘croque monsieur’ snack as an elegant canape of ‘mini’ toasted sandwich squares. Elsewhere, for its part, Nestle has expanded its Buitoni Piccolinis line of mini pizzas with the launch of the new Tentazione sub-brand: “three exquisite new mini pizzas” that are “ideal for your buffet dinners!”
In a different take on the ‘snacking’ theme, another recent launch from frozen retailer Picard indicates how, perhaps counter-intuitively, frozen food is also seeking to respond to the clamor for on-the-go snacks and treats. Picard Delice d’un Instant Chocolate and Coconut Tart is a single serve product that is claimed to defrost in just 10 seconds in the microwave, while “its rectangular format means it slides easily into your bag for when you’re feeling peckish”, according to the retailer – an interesting twist on frozen food’s traditional reputation for convenience.
