Healthy Choice® Line Extensions Offer More to Love
ConAgra Foods' Healthy Choice brand is making more new varieties of the food people love. New flavors of Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers™ and soups are appearing on store shelves this summer in the brand's new packaging, which sports its signature exclamation point, conveying the energy and excitement of the new brand essence of Healthy Choice.
Four new Fresh Mixers varieties will lend distinction to the already sophisticated lineup of flavors that launched nearly a year ago. The savory new flavors include:
- Steak Portobello (sauce with portobello mushrooms, steak and pasta)
- Tuscan Style Chicken (tomato cream sauce with white meat chicken and pasta)
- Sweet Hickory BBQ Chicken (BBQ sauce with chicken and rice)
- Chicken Cacciatore (tomato sauce with white meat chicken and pasta)
Filling in the Gaps
In this second wave of innovation, a cross-functional team focused on driving trial by adding depth to the portfolio and delivering new flavors not currently offered in the category.
All four varieties were solid performers during consumer testing and were favored as much as the current Fresh Mixers best sellers: Ziti with Meat Sauce, and Rotini with Zesty Marinara Sauce.1 Whole-grain content in the new pasta SKUs, as well as in the original varieties, increased to include 51 percent Ultragrain®, up from 25 percent.
Package functionality tests led to improvements in packaging, such as simpler cooking steps, a more visible "water fill" line and improved instructional graphics.
"We made some very positive enhancements to the Fresh Mixers line by adding new flavor dimensions, boosting the nutritional value and making preparation quicker and easier for consumers," said Brian Degner, principal scientist.
(Meatless) Soup, Anyone?
To satisfy consumers' growing interest in vegetarian dishes and align with the brand's other meatless innovation, Healthy Choice All Natural Entrées, the brand is launching a new line of meatless soups in three contemporary flavors:
- Tomato Basil
- Hearty Vegetable Barley
- Traditional Lentil
For years, the demand for meatless meals has been driven by pure vegetarians. Today, the profile of consumers choosing vegetarian dishes has evolved to include people who simply want to adopt healthier eating habits to sustain a more balanced lifestyle. In fact, an estimated 30 to 40 percent of Americans are interested in eating meatless meals at least occasionally.2 Americans' demand for meatless meals also has played a role in the growth of vegetarian restaurants, which have doubled in number since 2000.3
A review and sampling of comparable soups both on the market and in restaurants, followed by consumer testing, led to the creation of the three new flavors.
"We leveraged the expertise of our Consumer Insights, Marketing, RQI (Research, Quality & Innovation) and Culinary staffs to come up with three strong flavor contenders," said Carolyn Ceccoli, associate brand manager. "These new flavors round out the Healthy Choice soup portfolio and will help satisfy consumers' desire for more vegetarian meal choices."
To drive trial and encourage cross-purchases of the new Fresh Mixers and soup flavors, a focused consumer marketing plan is scheduled for the fall to coincide with retailers' soup re-shelving in August.
1 Validation consumer tests 11/24/08 and 2/5/09
2 Trends in Vegetarian Cuisine 2008, Jill Harris; vegetarian-issues.suite101.com
3 Mintel, Vegetarian Foods (Processed), U.S., 6/07
