EG On The Move (EGOTM) is considering introducing the Iceland frozen range in another 10 stores, if a six-month pilot due to end mid-October is successful.
EGOTM says that after four weeks the project is off to a “promising start” with the final site of the 10 in the trial, Plantation Way in Leeds, coming on board this week.
Until now, the frozen range in the Top 50 Indie’s more than 150 sites was “limited”, according to EGOTM’s convenience retail manager Arif Adam.
Now the participating stores have varying levels of space devoted to the Iceland range, from eight doors worth of upright freezers, to 23 doors, including chest freezers..
Some of the sites – including at Barnstaple and Maghull, in Merseyside – use a walk-in ‘shop within a shop’ format, similar to the space that EGOTM gives to foodservice concessions such as Greggs.
Licensed brands – such as frozen Greggs sausage roll packs, bakes and wraps, and TGI Fridays wings and burgers – make up around 40% of the offer, and are supplied to all participating outlets via Iceland.
Other household names stocked include Harry Ramsden fish, scampi and sausages; Cathedral City lasagne, pies and bakes; and Slimming World curry, noodles and pasta pies. And tapping into recent trends, the My Protein pasta, and chicken and rice ready-meals are stocked too.
The remainder of the range – focused on ready for now and convenience meals – is given to big frozen brands, such as Mars ice cream, as well as Iceland own-brand.
The Jordon Group has supplied the freezers. The upright units are Arneg Mini Astana remote frozen food display cabinets.
The supplier describes the cabinets as “versatile” with a wide range of variants and modules for self-service sales. The units also have 8% more display capacity than standard units, with high-efficiency doors with slimmer frames, and latest-generation LED lights for better illumination.
The chest freezers are integral Arcaboa units. The Jordon Group says: “The beauty of the Arcaboa is the intelligent fan-assisted cooling and fan-assisted condenser system that keeps costs down. A defrost drain allows for easy cleaning, making it incredibly user-friendly.”
RDM temperature monitoring systems are fitted to the freezers giving real-time monitoring and precision control of refrigeration equipment.
EGOTM says that it will re-evaluate the project in a few months. “Frozen food is important and it has been well received. We are quite impressed with the first sites trading three to four weeks in, but it is a bit early to make judgements,” says Adam.
“We would normally review the situation three months in and see what is working and what isn’t. It is still quite fluid, and we will chop and change things as we go along.”
