Free-from brand Deliciously Ella is expanding to the frozen aisle with five gluten, dairy and egg-free ready meals for two.
The range will include Sweet Potato & Black Bean Shepherd’s Pie, Five Bean Chilli, Thai Yellow Curry, Cauliflower & Lentil Dahl and Spiced Spinach & Potato Cakes. All of the new ready meals will be packaged in recyclable paper and plastic and based on existing Deliciously Ella recipes.
Founder Ella Mills mentioned that she had been planning the frozen range for about 18 months. She told The Grocer that the brand had ‘always been about lunch and dinner’ so it was ‘important we moved into that space.’
Deliciously Ella has already launched a successful line of energy balls and a collection of cereals and breakfast pots. The brand hopes to bring plant-based food to a variety of categories, however, and to produce foods other than breakfasts and snacks.
Mills told The Grocer that it is often ‘challenging’ for shoppers to find quick and convenient plant-based food. She said: ‘We wanted to create a line of food that made it easier for people,’ and frozen is ‘nature’s way of preserving’. Indeed, the extended shelf life of frozen food does help to reduce food waste.
The new ready meals will be available from Ocado and Whole Foods Market from late September, priced between £3.99 and £4.99 per meal.