Tesco Finest is being re-launched today in the biggest investment in the brand since it began 15 years ago.
Over 400 new products are being launched and in all, three-quarters of the 1,500 products in the range will be either new or improved.
The Finest brand is worth £1.4bn in sales a year and according to Kantar Worldpanel data, is the fastest growing premium brand in the market. The product, which started in 1998 in a handful of Tesco stores, has grown to over 12m Finest products being bought in the UK every week.
Tesco UK managing director Chris Bush said the Finest brand wants to be the best product on the market. He said: “We‘re confident the Finest brand offers our customers the very best food in the market, at the accessible prices they expect from Tesco”.
Bart Michels, CEO of Added Value commented: “The problem with any sub range is that it still is part of the parent brand and, as the parent is the main driver of its equity, consumers can‘t separate the two in their minds. Tesco‘s low price proposition is too strong to really persuade people that its Finest range really is the finest of all supermarkets. Waitrose has quality in its core equity and hence struggles to deliver true value with its Essentials range for the very same reason.
The re-launch comes as Tesco recently signed a deal for its Finest brand to sponsor the upcoming series of ITV‘s flagship drama Downton Abbey. The deal, which begins in mid-October, will run throughout the fourth series across broadcast, mobile and online platforms.
