The Alexir Partnership has worked with Kraft Heinz New Ventures to launch a new “pan-Asian” cooking brand. SoSu from Amoy offers an assortment of pan-Asian recipes, in the form of meal kits and standalone cooking ingredients. Each kit includes an easy to use recipe and specialised ingredients that are also suitable for vegetarians and vegans – and all of which can be made in 15 minutes.
The Alexir Partnership utilised multiple businesses to develop, pack, source and supply the SoSu kits for Kraft Heinz. From the original brief the Alexir Creative CAD designers designed and sampled primary packaging on a folding box board. Various design options were considered but the final version was largely determined by the consumer opening experience and, equally important, co-packing speeds. In parallel, noodles, rice, seasonings, sauces and pastes were sourced and scheduled for delivery to the co-packing site in Sussex for trialling and initial sampling.
The project moved along at a rate of knots and the agility of both businesses was key in getting to market. Not only did Alexir Co-Packers collate all the meal kits, but they used their extensive portfolio of filling equipment to fulfil noodles and rice for the kits.
Part of the Amoy SoSu range included standalone SKUs of 250g stand up pouches of rice and flow wrapped 4-packs of noodles that complimented the meal kits and other standalone SKUs. The four SoSu meal kits Yakisoba Noodle, Donburi Rice, Bibimbap Rice and Korean BBQ Noodle and additional SKUs have been launched into Tesco in dedicated bays within the shopping aisles, encouraging consumers to experience new Japanese and Korean cuisines with easy-to-use recipes.
To complete the project, the Alexir Partnership designed and sourced the shelf-ready packaging for the packed products which, in turn, were palletised and delivered into the customer.
The Alexir Partnership worked “hand in hand” with Kraft Heinz New Ventures with timely and well-executed solutions for many components in these new Meal Kits supplying packaging, co-packing and international sourcing of rice and noodles.
Mark Rose, Business Development Manager at Alexir Co-Packers said, “From my own experience a project like this would typically take 12-18 months – we did it in 6 months – a testament to the “can do” approach from the Alexir Team and the timely decision making from the New Ventures Team – who are enormously grateful”.
With consumers looking for new flavours and becoming increasingly adventurous to explore new global tastes and textures, the rising trend in meal kits has played to the Partnership’s strengths; the management of complex supply chains and the agility to move at speed safely and surely to capitalise on an increasing trend. This trend will continue as shoppers tighten purse strings and create the “eating out -but stay at home” experience.
New Ventures Director at Kraft Heinz
“With Sosu from Amoy, we have packaged affordability and practicality, without losing aspects of curiosity and high-quality food. This meal kit and cooking range will allow consumers to eat well and explore new cuisines, without taking too much time out of their already busy days – that is the beauty of Sosu.”
