Iceland offering £100k investment for new branded products

Dubbed ‘Brands on ice’, the first quarterly showcase event is set to be held on 11 July 2024 where senior figures at Iceland will look for the “best in branded new product innovation and development”.​

Ahead of the first event, the retailer is inviting food and drink manufacturers to submit applications pitching their branded products. Successful applicants will then be invited to showcase their products to Iceland decision makers including the CEO, group buying director, trading category directors, marketing director, senior trading managers, head of innovation and licensing and merchandising team.

If selected, the product will be rolled out in Iceland and The Food Warehouse stores, as well as at Iceland.co.uk, while the frozen food specialist will invest up to £100k into the launch.

Iceland and its partner service will also support successful firms with the launch itself and through activation within its stores, online, internationally and with colleagues. Furthermore, for every £100k investment made by a supplier, the retailer will invest a further £100k.

Chosen products will be available exclusively through Iceland for an agreed number of weeks before launching into the wider market. Iceland said this is because exclusivity unlocks its ability to invest in the launch and can be the start of a pipeline of continuous exclusive NPD.

The pitch itself consists of six questions:

• Exclusivity – what’s the opportunity?
• Your product – why Iceland and what’s your target customer?
• Commercial proposal, including forecasts and growth.
• Overview of the concept / product (including brand tiering).
• Is there an existing product benchmark?
• Your trade plan and how you would want to market & activate your product for launch.