Ben's Original™ ranges of ready
meals launch from the US to the UK offering new healthy, convenient
innovations
LONDON, July 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mars Food &
Nutrition, a Mars, Incorporated business segment with some of the
world's leading food brands, has announced its expansion in the
ready meals space, starting with the launch of Ben's Original™
Street Food in the U.S. and Canada
and Ben's Original™ Lunch Bowls and Favourites in the U.K.
Investment in the new ranges is an exciting next chapter for
Mars Food & Nutrition as it seeks to respond to changing
consumer needs, helping more people easily access healthy and tasty
food.
Consumers juggling busy lives are prioritizing convenience;
according to new research 48% in the U.S. are spending fewer than
15 minutes daily on meal preparation1. Yet, they don't
want to sacrifice flavor or nutrition – two-thirds of consumers
globally are curious about new world flavors, while 50% across all
age groups say healthy eating is a top priority for them2
3. Mars Food & Nutrition is responding to these trends by
offering consumers meals that are healthy, tasty and convenient,
and that fuse flavors from around the world.
The newly launched ready meals tick all these boxes.
To create the new products and make them delicious, the Mars
Food & Nutrition team engaged consumers in the development,
tapped into chefs' creativity and leveraged AI powered insights.
The next step in the process was to ensure the meals were
nutritious and could be eaten regularly as a healthier choice.
Finally, they addressed consumer pain points relating to time spent
cooking and the desire to have meals ready almost immediately.
Ben's Original™ Street Food is a range of entrées being
launched across the U.S. and Canada in four delicious, bold flavors, such
as the bean and rice burrito bowl. The new product offers entree
options packed with fiber and protein, making them the perfect
satisfying dish for busy schedules. In the U.K., Ben's Original™
Favourites and Lunch Bowls, are launching in Tesco, with wider
rollout later in the year. Containing no artificial colors, flavors
or preservatives, Ben's Original™ Lunch Bowls include a range of
tasty grain and vegetable bowls with different grains and products
that are a source of fiber and high in protein. The Favourites
range includes ready to eat, rice-based dishes with delicious
vegetables and popular flavors from around the world. The new
products meet Mars Food & Nutrition's nutrition criteria based
on strict and widely agreed recommendations from the World Health
Organization (WHO) and other leading public health authorities, and
contribute to our five-year Health & Wellbeing
commitments4.
Shaid Shah, Global
President at Mars Food & Nutrition,
said: "We know Gen Z and Millennial shoppers
are prioritizing three things when it comes to mealtimes:
convenience, nutrition, and tasty, globally-inspired flavors.
That's why our mission is to enable healthier and more flavorful
eating to become part of consumers' daily lives.
Using our expertise in culinary innovation, our leading
manufacturing technologies and strong retail partnerships,
we're excited to make this investment in our North American and
U.K. markets. The successful launch, which is a result of the hard
work and passion of our teams, builds on our recent award-winning
innovations and acquisitions looking to redefine the future of
food."
Innovations that Mars Food & Nutrition has recently brought
to consumers' plates include Dolmio® Intensify pasta sauces, Ben's
Original™ Plant Powered, Ben's Original™ 10 Medley, and Ben's
Original™ One Pan Creations.
In addition to innovating and extending its core range, Mars
Food & Nutrition has continued to meet changing consumer needs
through M&A, acquiring fast-growing, trailblazing businesses
such as Kevin's Natural Foods. Kevin's Natural Foods is a
nutritious meal company helping empower even the busiest people to
eat clean without sacrificing flavor. Kevin's Natural Foods saw
record sales in 2023, growing by 50%, and recently launched a new
line of frozen products. Roxanne
Bernstein, a seasoned professional with 20 years of
experience in the food and beverage industry and a successful track
record in growing brands, was recently named Chief Executive
Officer to support the brand's continued growth.
About Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated, is driven by the belief that the world we
want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a $50bn+
family-owned business, our diverse and expanding portfolio of
leading pet care products and veterinary services support pets all
around the world and our quality snacking and food products delight
millions of people every day. We produce some of the world's
best-loved brands including ROYAL CANIN®, PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®,
CESAR®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M's®, SNICKERS® and BEN'S ORIGINAL™.
Our international networks of pet hospitals, including BANFIELD™,
BLUEPEARL™, VCA™ and ANICURA™ span preventive, general, specialty,
and emergency veterinary care, and our global veterinary
diagnostics business ANTECH® offers breakthrough
capabilities in pet diagnostics. The Mars Five Principles—Quality,
Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom—inspire our
150,000 Associates to act every day to help create a better world
for people, pets and the planet.
Mars Food & Nutrition is a segment of Mars, Incorporated,
with 2,000 Associates across the globe. It has some of the world's
leading food brands: Ben's Original™, Kevin's Natural Foods,
Masterfoods®, SEEDS OF CHANGE®, Tasty Bite®, foodspring™, and
DOLMIO® enjoyed in more than 30 markets around the world. For
more information about Mars, please
visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook,
Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Media Contact:
Freud Communications
MarsFoodVL@freuds.com
1 Data sourced in Jan
2024 from continuous survey commissioned by Mars Food &
Nutrition and conducted with Streetbees involving 2400 US
consumers reporting on their eating habits throughout 2023.
2 Top 10 Trends for 2024, Innova Market Insights.
Accessed here.
3 Hungry and Confused: The winding road to conscious
eating 2022, McKinsey. Accessed here
4 Mars Food Nutrition Criteria, 3rd
edition, 2021. Accessed here
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