Frozen foods, rebranded

The company was founded by Rachel Drori in 2015 and started distributing nationwide last year. “Debunking misconceptions around frozen foods is essential to the Daily Harvest brand.” Drori tells JWT Intelligence. Working with a team of chefs and nutritionists, each Daily Harvest cup is packed with gluten-free and Paleo-friendly superfoods, and experimenting with different types of ingredients is keeping the company relevant to today’s health-conscious consumer. “We’re able to present unfamiliar ingredients, like camu camu or reishi mushrooms, in a pre-packaged, pre-portioned format that’s made to taste great,” Drori says.

A large part of the company’s success is down to packaging, photography, and social media. “[The Daily Harvest] packaging is simple, clean, and uncluttered, and that signals to customers that there’s something different about it,” says Drori. “Because we eat with our eyes, Instagram has been the most effective channel for us to convey our difference.”

Strong Roots is a Dublin-based company which just started distributing in the UK this year. The Irish brand was founded in 2015 and has seen approximately 1200% year-on-year growth. Creating products that appeal to today’s health-conscious consumers, like gluten-free and vegan-friendly options including kale and quinoa burgers and spinach bites, has set Strong Roots apart. “In a lot of places we are literally standing outside of ‘frozen,’” founder Sam Dennigan tells JWT Intelligence. “In some chains you can find us in ‘fresh,’ in the ‘health’ aisle and even in the ‘protein’ section as a meal accompaniment.”

The packaging design also makes Strong Roots stand out. “We are a design-led company,” says Dennigan, “so we start with the consumer and work back. Our packaging is no different. Uncomplicated, clear, minimal design that gets to the essence of the product.”

Danish frozen bakery Jalm&B launched last year producing organic breads, buns and cakes. The branding was designed by Danish consultancy Kontrapunkt and offers an elegant, minimalistic packaging to stand out from the frozen foods crowd.

Big brands are seeing potential in frozen and turning to start-ups for leverage. In September, Danone invested in frozen organic baby food startup Yooji, which already distributes in 600 stores around France. The products are made of 100% natural ingredients without salt or additives. In the same month, Nestle acquired plant-based frozen food company Sweet Earth, giving the company immediate access to the plant-based food market, which it expects to reach $5 billion worldwide by 2020. Sweet Earth offers a wide range of global cuisine, including Korean japchae and Moroccan tagine.