Ocado has unveiled its range of luxury Christmas products as it launched a brand new range in tandem.
Buyers and marketers showed off its new homewares range ‘Sizzle,‘ pet store Fetch and its own-food and home range yesterday (7 July.)
Sizzle will feature 10,000 premium products from the likes of Jasper Conran and Vera Wang, highlighting the rising number of fashion designers broadening their homeware offer. Ocado‘s one hour time delivery slot will be included in the section. Goblets, lux kitchen knives, serving platters and cups and sauces were also on show.
Ocado is working with 350 new suppliers for the section and Sizzle will have its own tab on its homepage, similar to pet food store Fetch.
It has been tested internally with staff and will roll out “slowly.” Ocado did not say what sales figures they expected from Sizzle this Christmas.
A spokeswoman said the company insisted it would be able to deal with the extra amount of goods being processed through its two customer fulfillment centres (CFC) in Hatfield and Dordon. The company is also ready to open a third CFC after demand surged following its tie-up with Morrisons.
The grocer has also increased its all-branded pet store Fetch product range to 8,000 this Christmas.
In its most prominent section of own-food, buyers said they were expecting the popularity of geese and other birds to rise again this Christmas as consumers opt for something more special.
“We‘re seeing a resurgence of vintage birds such as pheasant and partridge and we‘re selling more as customers become more adventurous,” one food buyer told Retail Gazette.
Luxury whiskey, Prestat chocolate and cheese Reflet de France Brie de Meaux were also expected to be top sellers.
Its vegetarian, dairy-free and gluten-free ranges, set up two years ago, has grown rapidly from 100 products to 1,200. Its best-selling veggie product is ready meal ‘Spinach and Ricotta Cannelioni by Charlie Bingham while it expects Secret Sausages in disguise – an Ocado exclusive – also to sell well.
A food buyer also said he was seeing more demand for Halal products.
A Christmas food showcase wouldn‘t be the same without some weird products – mince pie cheese and beetroot and white chocolate stood out, while cute products Hiver Honey beer, which won the Ocado Britain‘s next top supplier award, was also tipped to do well at Christmas.
In the firm‘s Home section, a part of the business that “we haven‘t pushed so much recently” launched 800 products last month. Martin De La Fuente, senior buying manager at Ocado said the Christmas tree would be different this year.
“We‘re seeing a move away from brass reds and silvers towards aubergine and bronze colours,” he said.
