The iconic bearded Captain Birdseye will on shore leave for a spell in the United Kingdom now that Charlotte Carter-Dunn has assumed the frozen fish fingers packaging helm on a temporary duty assignment basis. This is the first time since the brand character appeared in 1967 that a woman has been the figurehead of the marketing campaign.
The 24-year-old Gloucestershire resident got the gig by winning a “Frozen Food Hero” competition jointly sponsored by Birds Eye and the Iceland Foods retail chain to celebrate shoppers who buy frozen products to save money and in the bargain reduce food waste, which is estimated to exceed £118 million in value every week in Britain.
More than 500 people took part in the contest to win a year’s supply of Birds Eye frozen fish fingers as well as the honor of having their image grace limited edition packs of the popular product, along with advice on food economy.
The newly recruited “captain,” who cares for two foster children and regularly shops the frozen food aisle at Iceland for meal solutions, commented: “My freezer has been even more of a godsend during lockdown as it’s enabled us to reduce our shopping trips. I hope that sharing my frozen hacks will help other families get the most out of their freezer.”
“Frozen food has never been more relevant and important to the average household, as shown by the invaluable tips sent in by some of the UK’s savviest shoppers,” said Steve Challouma, UK general manager at Birds Eye. “Saving money and reducing food waste are just two of the many benefits to using frozen food – something we’ve long been passionate about. It was clear from Charlotte’s frozen food tips that she was a worthy winner, so we hope shoppers are equally inspired by her advice to make the best use of their freezers and to discover the real variety of exciting food options that sit in the freezer aisle.”
Malcolm Walker, managing director of Iceland Foods, added: “We know that there are millions of ‘tea time captains’ who shop with us every week, all of whom are experts in keeping weekly grocery bills down and reducing waste in the kitchen. More and more families are waking up to the benefits of frozen food and Charlotte is a great advocate for switching and saving.”
