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Leah Smith

Leah Smith

3 March 2026

Birds Eye and Sauce Shop turn up the heat on frozen with flavour-first wings launch

Birds Eye and Sauce Shop turn up the heat on frozen with flavour-first wings launch

The frozen aisle is getting a flavour-forward upgrade as Birds Eye expands its high-growth Chicken Shop range through a branded collaboration with Sauce Shop.


The new SKUs – Buffalo Hot Chicken Wings and Honey & Chipotle BBQ Chicken Wings – are designed to capitalise on sustained demand for premium, customisable fakeaway occasions at home.


Each 385g pack contains Birds Eye Chicken Shop wings paired with a dedicated Sauce Shop sachet, giving shoppers the ability to dial up heat, sweetness or smokiness to taste – a feature aimed squarely at younger, flavour-led consumers seeking restaurant-style experiences without delivery costs.


The launch responds to continued growth in fakeaway missions, particularly among 18–34-year-olds, where flavour ranks as the top purchase driver in chicken-based occasions.


Research shows more than half of younger shoppers actively vary flavour choices, while 40% say new flavours elevate the experience and make it feel more special.


Positioned around quick service restaurant-style quality in frozen, the range delivers +28.8% value growth and +28% volume growth year on year, while recruiting new shoppers into frozen poultry. The products are designed for smaller group occasions, which account for 74% of fakeaways, and are compatible with air fryer cooking, a key purchase driver in the category.


By pairing a high-performing frozen brand with a fast-growing ambient sauce specialist, the collaboration aims to drive cross-category interest, incremental basket spend and repeat purchase.


Claire Sutton, marketing director at Birds Eye, comments: “Our Chicken Shop range has always been about bringing quick service restaurant-style quality into the frozen fixture and flavour sits at the heart of that. Partnering with Sauce Shop lets us bring the kind of sauces people obsess over online straight into the freezer aisle.”


Sauce Shop has delivered +40.4% retail sales value growth in the past year, with significant gains in hot sauce and BBQ segments.


Pam Digva, co-founder at Sauce Shop, adds: “This partnership is rooted in flavour. Pairing our best-loved Buffalo Hot and Honey & Chipotle BBQ profiles with quality wings gives people the freedom to tailor heat and flavour at home.



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