Canada’s Maple Leaf Foods has unveiled Musafir, a “protein-powered” South Asian frozen food brand.
Musafir includes vegetarian and chicken products, offering formats such as burgers, nuggets and savoury bites. The products are made in Canada and feature protein sources such as paneer cheese, eggs, chickpeas and chicken.
Jitendra Sagili, chief R&D and food technology officer at Maple Leaf Foods, said in a statement: “Musafir was developed to explore how food can connect people to culture, memory, and new experiences.
“We’re excited to introduce a brand that meets the growing appetite for bold flavours while delivering the quality, convenience, and innovation our consumers want.”
Maple Leaf told Just Food that Musafir is already on shelves at Walmart and further listings are due to follow in FreshCo, Costco, and Loblaws, along with Sobeys, No Frills and Calgary Co-op through October and November.
The company expects distribution to reach thousands of outlets across those chains in Canada.
Recommended retail prices range from C$9.97 ($7.1) to C$16.99, covering formats such as nuggets, burgers, tarts and bites, the group confirmed.
Maple Leaf declined to provide current or potential sales figures for the Musafir brand but said “category trends show strong momentum”.
Driven by Canada’s expanding South Asian population and shoppers “actively seeking globally inspired flavours”, industry data shows “steady year-over-year in this segment”, the company added.
The debut of Musafir comes shortly after Maple Leaf completed the spin-off of its pork operations into Canada Packers at the start of the month.
Under the transaction, Maple Leaf holds a 16% stake in Canada Packers.
The companies also entered into an “evergreen” supply agreement, with Maple Leaf becoming an anchor customer and Canada Packers supplying pork for Maple Leaf’s prepared meats business.
Prior to the completion of that transaction, Maple Leaf reported its second-quarter results in August for the period to 30 June.
Group sales rose 8.5% to C$1.36bn from a year earlier. Sales in the company’s prepared foods, poultry, and pork business units increased 7.5%, 8.5%, and 10.7%, respectively.
Adjusted EBITDA climbed 28.9% to C$182m. Net profit was C$58m, rebounding from a loss of C$26m in the corresponding period. Adjusted earnings per share rose to 56 Canadian cents from 18 cents.
Maple Leaf stuck with its guidance for revenue growth in the mid-single-digit range but raised its outlook for adjusted EBITDA to C$680-700m, compared to a previous forecast of C$634m or “greater”.
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