The owners for Lawford Service Station wanted to appeal to commuters with a convenient meal for tonight offering, when they re-opened their doors after an extensive store refit.
Harriet Cookson, who runs the business with her father Tony, knew that she wanted a premium ready-meal frozen option, but also knew that she did not want the commitment of having to install branded freezers.
And so after an extensive search on Google, she came across the By Ruby brand: a range of classic comfort food favourites such as fish pie and lasagne, that could be incorporated into existing freezer space among similar items.
The supplier describes its products as a “drop in alternative” to frozen ready-meal brand Cook. Retailers don’t need a massive minimum order to get on board, with its requirement for just 10 cases per delivery.
“I really wanted something different,” says Cookson, who is considering introducing bundle promotions on the meals with alcohol and desserts for a treat night in, to generate interest.
The store only re-opened on October 7, after being closed for five weeks of refurbishment, but Cookson says that sales of the meals – at £6.95 for one portion packs or £10.95 for a meal for two – have been performing well.
Frozen food is a growing area for the business. It increased both freezer and chiller space in the refit, which included extending the store by a third to 1,200sq ft.
Cookson says that with the store having a lot of price-marked products, sprinkling in premium ranges like By Ruby helps to give appeal to a wider range of customer.
She likes not being part of a fascia group because she has complete flexibility on her offering, which includes some local lines.
