Abstract
This report provides market data and trends, as well as the results of an exclusive consumer survey about shelf-stable meals. Mintel isolates trends in the market, revealing consumer attitudes, concerns, and behavior that will help marketers find opportunities and maximize growth potential.
The $2.6 billion shelf-stable meals market has been in steady decline at current and constant prices for a number of reasons, including a large volume of products being sold at below-average prices, and competition from other food options that require less effort, like dining out. With the often negative health image of shelf-stable foods, consumers looking for healthier meal options are moving towards meals with fresher profiles.
In this report, shelf-stable meals include packaged prepared meals that meet the following criteria:
- Do not require refrigeration
- Do not require the addition of ingredients, except water or milk in some cases
- Require minimal heating or cooking
Included are the following types of products:
- Microwaveable entrees
- Shelf-stable prepared chili
- Shelf-stable prepared dinners and entrees
- Shelf-stable prepared pasta dishes
- Shelf-stable dry macaroni and cheese
Soup is not included in this report, but is covered in Mintel' s Soup- U.S., September 2007.
This report contains US IRI InfoScan data.
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