Who loves frozen food?
With fast-growing choices in clean-label frozen foods—and a discerning palate for ethnically authentic cuisine—older millennials now make up the largest segment of frozen food customers at 48%, according to the Institute’s Power of Frozen in Retail 2021 report.
According to IRI, a fast-growing, global leader in innovative solutions and services for consumer, retail and media companies, frozen foods sales rang in at USD66.4bn the 52-week period ending on December 26, 2021, a 1% increase compared to a year ago. That increase is significant considering it is up against the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. When you compare the same time period to 2019, frozen food sales increased 23%, the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) says.
“A 94% surge in frozen foods came in mid-March 2020 for obvious pandemic-related reasons: convenience, shelf life, single-serving options and ease in preparation,” said Saffron Road Foods founder and CEO Adnan Durrani. “But what consumers new to frozen entrees discovered was the evolution of frozen foods, the abundance of better-for-you options and the plethora of innovation and ethnic flavors, equating to sustainable category growth.”
Forecast
While Indian and Asian flavors top the trends, Durrani also forecasts growth in ethnically authentic Mediterranean, South American, Peruvian and Vietnamese frozen cuisines. Durrani says that natural, organic and high-quality ingredients are the future of frozen. Durrani adds that forward-looking retailers will opt for new frozen challenger brands offering diverse ethnic, premium and healthy options. With online frozen sales up by 75%, current studies show that today’s frozen foods rival fresh. More than 50% of millennials report that frozen is equal to or better-for-you (BFY) than fresh, offering healthier, clean-label options.
A recent Deloitte study showed that frozen category sales during 2020 pandemic shopping soared to a record 23% increase, 200% above fresh. Offering convenience, a long shelf life, single-serving options and reduced food waste from unused ingredients, evolving shopping behaviors show that 57% of shoppers still purchase more frozen foods, 58% purchase different kinds of frozen foods and 57% are purchasing different brands than they did pre-pandemic.
Source: https://www.frozenfoodeurope.com/millennials-have-an-affinity-for-frozen-food-affi-says/
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