Fresh & Easy’s 40- to 45-ounce family-sized prepared meals are now the six top-selling lines in the 110-product range, vindicating the grocer’s strategy of offering larger pack sizes.

The Tesco-owned US chain’s top-selling kitchen product is family-sized Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Alfredo, followed by Chicken Teriyaki with Rice and Vegetables. The family-sized packs were introduced in March.

Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy said last month that US customers wanted family-sized products, and that it was in discussions with manufacturers to stock different sizes.

Fresh & Easy chief marketing officer Simon Uwins said: “Customers told us they were looking for larger sizes to feed their families on a budget. We introduced larger portions … so our customers can feed a family of four for only $8.”

The grocer plans to introduce further family-sized packs including 18-pack eggs, a jumbo-sized fresh pizza and larger packs of fresh fish.

Fresh & Easy has also expanded its social networking presence with a page on picture-sharing site Flickr. This adds to its activity on Twitter and its online blog.

Tesco reported trading losses at Fresh & Easy were higher than expected at £142m on sales of £208m for the full year to the end of February. Like-for-like sales rose  30 per cent. Leahy said last month that the market in the US is now shrinking by more than 10 per cent.

Topics