Rustlers fans can now heat their fully assembled burger without even opening the pack in what Kepak describes as its “most convenience solution yet”.

The Cook in Box packaging, which contains a Kepak patented packaging format, includes a ‘micro-crisping sleeve’, which has been developed to ensure the bun is perfectly cooked.  The packaging performs a dual role, creating a protective barrier around the product, eliminating any messy preparation in the workplace or with in-store microwaves, whilst also acting as a product carrier to enable easy consumption on the go. 

Two lines will be available in the new packaging: the All Day Breakfast Double Sausage Muffin with cheese and brown sauce (rrp £2.50) will be well placed to target the breakfast occasion, and the Classic Cheeseburger topped with cheese and Rustlers signature sauce (rrp £2.50) will cater for lunchtime and evening shoppers. 

The company is confident that the new lines will help grow the Rustlers brand, which is currently worth £99.8m [Nielsen scantrack w/e 7th September 2019].

“Rustlers has been capitalising on consumer demand for great tasting convenient food solutions for many years and, with the brand growing by more than 10% YoY [Nielsen scantrack w/e 7th September 2019], it’s clear that demand for these products continues to be high,” said Adrian Lawlor, marketing and business development director at Kepak.

“However, when looking at how the category served the on the go and workplace channels, we identified an untapped opportunity to present our products in a different way, to further address consumer needs in these channels, whilst leveraging the core strengths of Rustlers.

“We also wanted to create a low cost approach for retailers and food operators to develop incremental opportunities for hot food across a variety of day parts. We are confident that this latest innovation will create a significant new growth platform for us and our customers, in these channels and beyond,” concluded Adrian.

The range has launched in selected Co-op, Nisa and One Stop stores and will be rolling out across the UK in the coming months.