Growth Strategies in Ready Meals: Consumer drivers, new meal opportunities, innovation and format and flavor trends

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
  • Ready meals: Definitions and market sizing
  • The disappearing mealtime
  • Key trends in the ready meals market
  • The rise of ethnic foods and flavors
  • Innovations in ready meals
  • Conclusions
• Chapter 1 Ready meals: Definitions and market sizing
  • Summary
  • How to use this report
  • What is a ready meal?
    • Definitions
      • Canned ready meals
      • Chilled ready meals
      • Dried ready meals
      • Frozen ready meals
      • Ethnic ready meals
      • Innovation
• Market overview
  • Ready meals market sizing and analysis
    • Canned ready meals market sizing
    • Chilled ready meals market sizing
    • Dried ready meals market sizing
    • Frozen ready meals market sizing
• Chapter 2 The disappearing mealtime
  • Summary
  • Introduction
  • Major trends in mealtime behavior
    • Mealtime fragmentation
    • Decline of the family meal
    • Meals are eaten at the dining table less often
      • The workplace is becoming an increasingly important eating location
    • Consumers are moving away from three meals a day
• Chapter 3 Key trends in the ready meals market
  • Summary
  • Introduction
  • Consumer attitudes towards ready meals
  • Convenience
    • Differences across cultures
    • Differences across ages
      • Seniors are an attractive consumer group
      • Seniors dominate the chilled ready meals market
    • Differences in gender
  • Health
    • The healthy eating attitude-behavior gap is closing
    • Consumers are seeking more information on healthy eating
    • The nutritional content of prepared meals influences purchase decisions
    • The effect of stress
  • Indulgence
    • Consumers are looking for new, cosmopolitan, taste sensations
    • Consumers desire authenticity
    • Customization
    • Home-made meals
• Chapter 4 The rise of ethnic foods and flavors
  • Summary
  • Introduction
  • Market analysis
    • US
    • Europe
  • Key trends
    • Foodservice coming into ready meals
    • New and exciting flavors
    • Premiumization
    • The range of new flavors is increasing
    • Ethnic products tie in with consumer flavor trends
    • Mainstream consumers pick up minorities tastes
  • Key recommendations
    • Marketing
      • Target minority consumers
      • Overlap of different ethnic groups
      • Market to areas with high minority concentrations
      • Make regional campaigns more specific
      • Adapt national marketing campaigns to specific regions
  • New product development
    • Discover new cuisines among minority communities
    • Lengthy time to mass market for ethnic food types
    • Learn from foodservice trends
    • Premium ready meals should adapt to emerging foodservice trends
    • Promote ethnic products specific health benefits
    • Emphasize ethnic ready meals natural qualities
    • Create premium pre-packaged ingredients and meal kits
• Chapter 5 Innovation in ready meals
  • Summary
  • Introduction
    • Healthy ready meals
    • Continuing premiumization of ready meals
  • Market context
  • Leading types of ready meals
  • Leading product tags
    • Healthy ready meals
    • Low-fat ready meals
    • Private label ready meals
  • Leading shelving types in ready meals
  • Innovation in ready meals
    • Innovation in formulation
    • Innovation in packaging
  • Innovation by region
    • North America
    • Europe
    • Asia-Pacific
• Chapter 6 Conclusions
  • Summary
  • Introduction
  • Develop meals that can replace a impulse snacks
  • Flexibility of cooking options
    • Offer components of ready meals in different trays
  • Taste remains the key attraction for consumers
    • Focus on promoting a balanced diet
  • Develop trust
    • Demonstrate your commitment to healthy eating to evoke trust
  • Educate consumers
  • Extend healthy brands into ready meals
  • Develop free from meals
  • Develop functional meals
    • Avoid adopting a "general wellness" position
  • Combine the mega-trends
  • Provide information leaflets on product authenticity
• Index

  List of Figures

  • Figure 1.1: How has your purchase of convenience foods such as ready meals and pizzas changed over the past year?
  • Figure 2.2: Mealtime occasions are changing in Europe and the US
  • Figure 3.3: Factors that discourage consumers from purchasing prepared meals, based on consumer and industry opinion surveys
  • Figure 3.4: Consumers changing attitudes towards health over time
  • Figure 3.5: Time-saving products are important to consumers in Europe and the US
  • Figure 3.6: Seniors represent an attractive target for ready meal manufacturers, 2004
  • Figure 3.7: Men spend more than women on prepared meals, 2004
  • Figure 3.8: European consumer attitudes towards health
  • Figure 3.9: Birds Eye SteamFresh gourmet ready meals
  • Figure 3.10: Consumers seek customized products and have increased their purchase over the past year
  • Figure 3.11: There is an attitude-behavior gap in cooking "inspiring meals for the family 61
  • Figure 4.12: The proportion of ethnic minority consumers is correlated with the uptake of ethnic food
  • Figure 4.13: Al Fez Salad Mix - Lebanese Style Taboule
  • Figure 4.14: Tai Pei Carb Counter Frozen Entree
  • Figure 5.15: Share of ready meals launched by type, 2003-2005 (%)
  • Figure 5.16: Trader Joes Refrigerated Spinach Potato Frittata
  • Figure 5.17: Hain Pure Foods European Recipes Soup
  • Figure 5.18: Birds Eye and Heinz steamfresh ranges
  • Figure 5.19: Retailers have a wide range of private labels
  • Figure 5.20: NPD in ready meals by shelving type, 2003-2005 (%)
  • Figure 5.21: Innovation in ready meals by type, 2003-2005 (%)
  • Figure 5.22: Pagoda Asian Sensations
  • Figure 5.23: Stouffers Lean Cuisine Frozen Panini
  • Figure 5.24: Innovation in ready meals by region, 2003-2005 (%)
  • Figure 5.25: Healthy Choice Frozen Meal - Asiago Chicken Portobello
  • Figure 5.26: Captain Iglo Chicken Surprise Stuffed Chicken Filets
  • Figure 5.27: Soybeans and root vegetables mixed with rice
  • Figure 6.28: Linpac "easy snapable" ready meals packaging

  List of Tables

  • Table 1.1: $m value of ready meals market in Europe and US, 2004-2009
  • Table 1.2: $m value of canned ready meals in Europe and US, 2004-2009
  • Table 1.3: $m value of chilled ready meals in Europe and US, 2004-2009
  • Table 1.4: $m value of dried ready meals in Europe and US, 2004-2009
  • Table 1.5: $m value of frozen ready meals in Europe and US, 2004-2009
  • Table 2.6: Change in workplace consumption occasions in Europe and the US (CAGR), 2004 - 2009
  • Table 4.7: US ethnic food retail market, by cuisine (US$ m), 1999-2009
  • Table 4.8: Europe & US ethnic food retail market, by country (US$ m), 1999-2009
  • Table 4.9: Europe ethnic food retail market, by cuisine (US$ m), 1999-2009
  • Table 4.10: Europe ethnic food retail market, by cuisine and country
  • Table 4.11: Growth in prevalence of food flavor claims
  • Table 5.12: Top 25 product tags used on ready meals, 2004 versus 2005 (%)