Chilled sales booming in convenience

The company said March 2020 marked the biggest ever month for volume and sales.

The top 10 chilled products the company is supplying to the convenience sector are: Mash Direct – Mashed Potato (6x400g), The Meatless Farm Co – 6 Meat-Free Sausages (4x300g), The White Rabbit Pizza Co. – The Smokin’ Vegan Gluten-Free Pizza (4x353g), Tims Dairy – Greek Style Honey Yogurt (6x175g), Moorish – Smoked Houmous (6x150g), Buxton Pudding – Real Vanilla Custard (8x365ml), Mattarello – Tomato & Mascarpone Sauce (6x250g), Higgidy – Feta & Red Pepper Veggie Rolls (4x160g), Cartmel – Sticky Toffee Pudding (6x250g), and Yeo Valley – Natural Kefir (6x350g).

Paul Hargreaves, chief executive at Cotswold Fayre, said: “We see chilled as a real growth area, and one that is set to continue as restaurants are likely to remain closed for some time. There is a real opportunity here for retailers to provide a range of chilled options to enjoy at home and cater for a variety of tastes and dietary requirements.”

He added: “When thinking about the chilled offering, convenience retailers should consider options beyond the ‘grab and go’ products associated with after work purchase, and look to good quality SKUs as more customers seek out more premium restaurant-style foods to enjoy at home. It could be pizza, gluten-free meals, or indulgent comfort foods. The main thing is to offer choice.”

The company has also seen sales of houmous, olives, soups, and smoked salmon soar.

However, Cotswold Fayre added that growth in chilled is not just down to the global pandemic. Overall year-on-year, the company has seen a 45% increase in growth of value sales and 48% in volume. In the period January to March 2020 cases shipped are up 84% on the same period in 2019.

The new Cotswold Fayre Chilled catalogue will be available to download from early July.