Pot Noodle, the number one brand in the quick meals and snacks category[a], is introducing new Noodle Blocks to tap into the evening meal segment.
The new format features four of the brand’s most beloved flavours - Chicken and Mushroom, Original Curry, Beef and Tomato, and Bombay Bad Boy. The launch allows retailers to drive incremental sales in store by leveraging Pot Noodle’s significant brand loyalty.
With block noodle occasions growing, primarily driven by a rising consumer preference for this product at evening meals[a], the launch answers a clear shopper trend. More consumers are turning to block noodles as a convenient, timesaving, and satisfying evening meal and Pot Noodle is strengthening the aisle with a new proposition supercharged with flavours that are already proven winners. These four fan-favourite flavours command 42% share of the Pot Snack market², demonstrating a loyal customer base who can now enjoy their go-to tastes in a different format, offering grocery retailers a significant opportunity to drive footfall and sales.
Significant research and development underpinned the launch to recreate Pot Noodle’s familiar taste in a block format. This required a new approach to flavour development, including a newly created seasoning powder designed to deliver the iconic Pot Noodle taste, using less powder. This seasoning powder will also be accompanied by the beloved wet sauce sachet that is included in the pot variants. These are paired with noodles portioned at over 110g for each flavour, due to demands for larger portion sizes, engineered to hydrate consistently during stove-top cooking, the finished product delivers the texture and bite shoppers expect.
Georgina Bradford, General Manager Foods UK & Ireland, Unilever, commented: “We are thrilled to bring our most-loved Pot Noodle flavours into a new format. We know that consumers are increasingly looking for convenience and affordable evening meals, and this launch directly meets the demand with the taste they already love. This offers a huge opportunity for retailers to invigorate the block noodle segment with a trusted, category-leading brand.”
This launch will be supported by a marketing campaign live now until April, including new television and cinema placements featuring moviegoers enjoying Pot Noodles in a cinema. This is accompanied by out of home ads that reinforce how Pot Noodles provide cheap but satisfying meals, with Chicken & Mushroom the hero variant across channels.
The Pot Noodle Blocks are available in major grocery outlets now, and will be more widely available across the grocery channel from March.