Richmond Sausages, part of Kerry Foods, has announced it is to launch a range of frozen ready meals, branching into the sector for the first time.

The new product line will include sausage and tomato pasta and sausage casserole. Richmond’s new frozen ready meals will be launching this month into Iceland, followed by a further roll out across other retailers.

Both meals will be available in 1400g, serving four, which Richmond says is perfect for the growing trend of family meal occasions. According to Kantar, Covid-19 saw an increase of 103 million more at home evening meal occasions per week, up by 23% compared to last year. Similarly, research from Kantar also revealed that family meal occasions grew by 21% during lockdown, compared to last year.

“We know the frozen category is booming and as consumers’ lives get busier, convenience has become key. Because of this, we’re confident our new range will be a hit.”

Victoria Southern, category and marketing director at Kerry Foods, said: “At Richmond we’ve been making sausages for over 100 years and during that time we’ve become the Nation’s Favourite Sausage Brand.

“Over the past year, we’ve worked hard on innovating our offering to ensure we can cater to a whole variety of mealtime occasions. Following our successful expansion into Chicken and Meat-Free Sausages, we’re excited to go one step further and launch our new Frozen Ready Meals range. We know the frozen category is booming and as consumers’ lives get busier, convenience has become key. Because of this, we’re confident our new range will be a hit.”