How Birds Eye is the usage of popular culture, gaming and hen to win over a brand new era of frozen meals fanatics

“Birds Eye were known for being the leaders in frozen food, but we saw there was a real untapped opportunity among pre-family 18 to 35-year-olds,” explains Charlotte Vause Cross, emblem supervisor of Chicken Shop at Birds Eye. “That more youthful workforce is into rapid, flavourful meals, however frozen simply wasn’t a part of their attention set.”

The solution was to meet them where they are: online, in gaming worlds, and crucially, in real life.

The hen store pop-up: serving tradition with a facet of chips

In a bid to make frozen meals related once more, Birds Eye introduced a pop-up hen store within the middle of Shoreditch – a location selected no longer only for footfall however for cultural cachet. The activation presented unfastened meals, an look from Love Island’s Wes Nelson DJing on night time one, and was once promoted thru a laser-focused mix of PR, influencer advertising, and focused virtual media.

“We wanted to recreate that fakeaway experience at home,” says Vause Cross. “QSR is massive, but there was no real frozen food solution for people wanting that chicken shop vibe. So we built our own and brought the experience to life.”

The pop-up wasn’t only a flash within the pan. It additionally acted as a pilot for broader emblem storytelling, checking out how Birds Eye may just talk to a more youthful, style-conscious demographic who view meals no longer simply as sustenance, however as social foreign money.

Gaming: from TV advertisements to in-game moments

While conventional above-the-line nonetheless performs a task, Birds Eye has advanced its media combine to mirror converting conduct. One of the standout strikes: changing into the primary FMCG emblem to spouse with EA FC, previously referred to as FIFA.

“That was massive for us,” says Vause Cross. “Gaming gave us huge impressions and in-game experiences that let us reach our audience in a completely new way. It wasn’t just advertising, it was embedding ourselves in their world.”

With display time an increasing number of ruled through immersive platforms reasonably than passive viewing, such strikes are much less a chance and extra a need.

Redefining frozen: well being, affordability and relevance

Birds Eye’s more youthful target market technique isn’t just about being found in cool puts, it’s additionally about rewriting perceptions of frozen meals itself.

“Let’s face it,” says Vause Cross, “frozen isn’t always seen as sexy. People do the rest of their food shop and end with frozen as an afterthought. For us, it’s about inspiring them to see frozen as the hero of the meal.”

That issues much more in an financial downturn. With the price of residing forcing many shoppers to reduce on consuming out, the ‘fakeaway’ pattern has emerged as a expansion class. Birds Eye’s Chicken Shop vary gives indulgent flavour profiles, but all merchandise within the vary are non-HFSS, tapping into each well being issues and price range realities.

“We’re actually really well positioned for the HFSS regulations,” says Vause Cross. “All of our Chicken Shop range fits within those guidelines, which is a great advantage.”

Agile innovation inside of a legacy emblem

For a emblem that predates tv, adapting to TikTookay and esports calls for no longer simply new techniques however new tactics of operating.

“We developed the Chicken Shop concept through what we called our chicken shop safari,” says Vause Cross. “We visited 12 chicken shops in one day around London – places like Wingstop, Popeyes, not just the big players like KFC. That immersion helped us tap into what’s driving the category and bring those trends home.”

Such nimble behaviour isn’t standard for a normal FMCG, however it’s an indication of ways Birds Eye is construction inside permission to experiment.

“Chicken Shop was a chance to test the waters. We got great results and now we can use those learnings across the business,” she provides.

AI and the artwork of packaging

The group has additionally introduced AI into the promoting toolkit, however in an overly sensible means.

“We’ve partnered with Dragonfly AI to analyse our packaging and marketing materials,” Vause Cross explains. “We use heatmaps to see where the eye is drawn first. In a supermarket shelf environment, that few seconds of attention is everything.”

It’s a glimpse into how Birds Eye is combining legacy expertise with new-school analytics.