Freeze meanz Heinz! Baked beans will be sold FROZEN as company looks to rebrand tinned snack’s image

Freeze meanz Heinz! Baked beans will be sold FROZEN as company looks to rebrand the tinned snack’s image

  • Move is part of a plan to ‘liberate’ baked beans from their old-fashioned image
  • Food giant will expand the product into new formats – including a frozen option 
  • The push began with the launch of a microwaveable breakfast pot last month
  • The brand added £25.9m in extra sales last year, taking them up to £229.2m

Heinz will launch its baked beans in freezer packs as it looks to rebrand a great British favourite.

The move is part of a plan to ‘liberate’ baked beans from their old-fashioned image and instead turn them into ‘the new avocado’ by playing up their nutritional value.

US food giant Kraft Heinz has drawn up the ‘beanz liberation exercise’, which will see the product expand into new formats – including a frozen option – that it hopes will appeal to youngsters.

The push began with the launch of the ‘beanz protein pot’ last month – but at least another six products will be released this year. 

The move is part of a plan to ‘liberate’ baked beans from their old-fashioned image and instead turn them into ‘the new avocado’ by playing up their nutritional value (file photo)

The microwaveable breakfast pots included not only its signature beans, but sausage, spinach and scrambled egg as well.

Jojo de Noronha, Kraft Heinz’s Northern Europe president, aims to turn baked beans into ‘the new avocado’ by emphasising its ‘superfood’ credentials. Superfoods are items that are rich in vitamins and beneficial nutrients. 

She said: ‘Beans on toast is high fibre, high protein and slow release of energy. Consumers understand the benefit but they don’t recognise them as a superfood yet.

‘We want to take them from a family comfort to a health and wellness food that is recognised as good for your body.’

She also told the Grocer magazine that Heinz wanted to lure back younger shoppers as the brand has lost its appeal with them over the past decade.

‘Old formats like beans or pasta in a can are fantastic but if you don’t bring relevancy, these consumers won’t be there re,’ she said.

The push began with the launch of the ¿beanz protein pot¿ (pictured above) last month ¿ but at least another six products will be released this year

The push began with the launch of the ‘beanz protein pot’ (pictured above) last month – but at least another six products will be released this year

Heinz Beanz has been a hit in lockdown with many eating at home more. 

The brand added £25.9million in extra sales last year, taking them up to £229.2million, according to retail analysts Nielsen.

American Henry Heinz first sold his version of baked beans in 1886 to London’s Fortnum & Mason store and they went on to become a shopping basket staple. 

In 1967, the brand introduced the slogan ‘Beanz Meanz Heinz’, which became one of the best-known of all time.