Woolies new grab-and-go cooked roast beef and corned beef in a Brisbane outlet this week.

FOR years, busy home-makers looking for a last-minute dinner protein item at the end of a long day have resorted to the pre-cooked ‘grab-and-go’ chickens in a bag, displayed in hot cabinets in all major supermarkets.

As of this week, Woolworths has introduced a beef equivalent, leveraging off new packaging technologies that allow a juicy and tasty beef roast to be cooked in-store and offered in convenient form for customers to pick-up on their way home.

Woolworths national deli merchandise manager, Roger Steele, said the new product would be progressively rolled-out across Australia, eventually appearing in about 900 of Woolworths 960 stores across the nation.

Queensland stores are already stocking the product (see image), while NSW stores will begin service next week, and other states will follow through to early July.

“We thought it would be a great opportunity to launch a red meat equivalent in this segment – provided we could get the right product, the right weight, right price and right packaging option,” Mr Steele said.

“Our consumer research indicated that there was a real market for it, and together with our project partner, Teys Australia Food Solutions, we’ve done an enormous amount of work to bring it to market. Teys is to be congratulated on delivering us the product that they have, and we are confident it will find strong acceptance among customers.”

Talks started on the project early last year, and it had taken Teys Food Solutions about 15 months to refine the product to Woolworths’ requirements, and bring it to market.

“There can be a fair cost involved if you don’t get it right, so we wanted to make sure it ticked all of the consumer boxes,” Mr Steele said.

Given the sheer size of the cooked chicken market, Woolworths has set an ambitious target to achieve 5pc of the ‘grab-and-go’ cooked chicken segment in the first phase.

Part of the secret to the new product’s launch is the use of a new high-temperature compatible ‘inner’ bag, in which the beef roast is cooked in in-store combi-ovens, before being inserted into the ‘outer’ carry-home bag.

“We’re extremely pleased with the product we’ve been able to bring to market. It eats really well – it’s tender, juicy and flavourful, everything a customer is looking for in a roast, without the fuss,” Mr Steele said. “And it’s certainly not dry, which is always a danger in this space.”

The new Woolworths pre-cooked beef options come in two forms – traditional roast beef, produced from the outside flat muscle, and hot corned beef, ready to slice and serve. Both are around 750grams in weight, providing ample servings for four. They are sold on a unit price of $13 each.

Sharply priced chickens make it a tough time for launch

At the time the bagged beef roast concept was being developed, Woolworths’ existing grab-and-go cooked chickens were selling for around $11 each. But coinciding with the launch of the new product, both major national supermarket groups have gone down a discounting strategy on cooked chickens, currently selling for just $7.90 each.

It was feared that this might make it difficult for the new roast/corned beef offer to gain traction in the market segment.

“Our early findings are very strong, despite the price differential,” Mr Steele said. “Both roast and corned beef sales are very encouraging.”

He said Woolworths would begin a marketing/awareness process for the new product, once it was fully rolled-out across the country.

A specific training process has been developed in conjunction with Teys for in-store deli staff handling, cooking and displaying the product.

“Training sessions are rolling-out in each state to make sure our teams know how to handle it as they should, and deliver the very best product possible.”

The product goes straight into the Woolworths distribution network in chilled form from the Teys Food Solutions’ Brisbane facility, for distribution into the national store network.

“With the moves to whole carcase utilisation, this product is providing an ideal way to value-add a muscle like the outside flat, which is perfectly suited to this process,” Mr Steele said.

“It’s an opportunity for us, and Teys.”

“By mid-July, we’ll have it in stores around Australia, and from there, we will focus on accelerating sales through promotion and awareness.”

At this stage, both the roast and corned beef products carry a Teys brand identity, the Cedric Walter brand, honouring one of the company’s founders.

“The Cedric Walter range offers traditional, convenient beef solutions that provide everyday Australian families with affordable, wholesome, quality options that are easy to prepare and taste great, said Teys Australia Food Solutions commercial lead, Rata Shuttleworth.

“To ensure that Teys can deliver consumer-facing solutions to Woolworths, we have invested in the development of best-in-class category management, consumer insights and store-level operational expertise,” Mr Shuttleworth said.