Princes is expanding the canned ready meal (CRM) market with four new curries inspired by popular Asian cuisines. The launch responds to rising interest in contemporary food and drink consumer trends, bringing Thai, Japanese and Korean flavours to an affordable pantry staple.
A modern curry range for convenient meals
The new collection includes:
- Thai Red Chicken Curry
- Thai Green Chicken Curry
- Chicken Katsu Curry
- Korean Sweet Chilli Chicken Curry
Each product is high in protein, with this benefit prominently displayed on the front of the pack. The range also carries no red traffic-light labels, giving busy households a convenient and balanced meal option.
Addressing demand for greater variety
Princes’ expansion follows research showing that 80% of shoppers would welcome a broader selection of modern and internationally inspired dishes in the canned ready meal category. Curry remains a strong performer, generating £15.6 million in CRM sales. The segment has also outpaced wider category declines, recording volume growth of 2.6% and value growth of 2.1%.
Despite this performance, consumers have historically had limited access to contemporary flavour choices in mainstream canned meals. As the leading curry brand within the CRM sector, Princes is well placed to build category momentum and attract both existing customers and shoppers looking for new meal experiences.
“We know consumers are increasingly seeking exciting, global flavours that are both convenient and tasty,” said Jeremy Gibson, marketing director at Princes Group. “Our brand-new flavours will bring some of the nation’s favourite Asian-inspired dishes to the canned ready meal category, providing shoppers with affordable, quick meal solutions.”
The launch reflects wider food and beverage industry trends, including demand for accessible global cuisine, convenient formats and product innovation. It also demonstrates how food manufacturing trends and food processing technology continue to support greater flavour variety in ambient products, while food and drink marketing increasingly focuses on authenticity, value and ease of preparation.
Where to buy the new products
The four varieties are entering retail this week:
- Sainsbury’s: Thai Green Chicken Curry, Chicken Katsu Curry and Korean Sweet Chilli Chicken Curry are available now.
- Iceland: Korean Sweet Chilli Chicken Curry is available now.
- Tesco: All four varieties will launch nationwide from 26 October.
Convenience remains the leading factor behind canned ready meal purchases. Princes’ latest range therefore creates a significant opportunity for category development, showing that ambient meals can deliver vibrant, restaurant-inspired flavours at home while responding to evolving food distribution trends, food and drink packaging expectations and food and drink industry innovation.
