There are plenty of options in the freezer aisle for those who enjoy restaurant food but prefer to eat it at home. Take P.F. Chang’s restaurant. Unilever recently launched P.F. Chang’s Home Menu, a line of the restaurant’s famed beef & broccoli, General Chang’s chicken and other popular dishes. Along with restaurant chains, other types of brands have also made a statement in the freezer aisle. There’s Bertolli’s restaurant-inspired line of entrees, which come in such upscale varieties as Chicken Alla Vodka & Farfalle and Spicy Shrimp Fra Diavolo.
But such category excitement hasn’t been enough to maintain dollar sales, which slipped in all three channels. Even the once-promising segment of multi-serve dinners posted a mere 1% dollar sales increase, compared with a 4% growth last year.