Competitor Strategies in Cooking Ingredients and Meals

Delivery

This report comes in PPT.

Key Findings

The top three leaders remain, though Unilever unseats Nestlé

Kraft Heinz, Unilever and Nestlé retain their leadership of the cooking ingredients and meals industry globally. However, second position was swapped from Nestlé to Unilever in 2023, benefiting from relatively better performance of sauces, dips and condiments compared to meals and soups.

Legacy/core/power brands continue to be the key strategy for large players

Unilever’s Knorr and Hellmann’s have the advantage of being among the company’s Power 30 brands. Similarly, Maggi was Nestlé’s key growth driver, though the company faced setbacks in the meals market. Other leading companies are also divesting low-performing brands and expanding to fast-growing categories such as within meals and soups.

Strategies of the top three focus on taste, convenience, health and nutrition, and lifestyle adaptation

Major companies have approached cooking and eating from polar ends, ranging between helping consumers prepare delicious meals from scratch, and providing instant meal solutions. Key focus areas, therefore, are in empowering consumers to prepare tasty food, and improving portfolios to ensure greater convenience, a more effective health and wellness positioning, and successful integration with various lifestyle choices.

The wider market sees a surge in plant-based, convenient solutions and premium offerings

Across the cooking ingredients and meals industry globally, there has been a trend towards introducing more plant-based varieties, expanding from dairy and meats. At the same time, escalating demands for convenience have led to a focus on e-commerce and meal kit formats. Players also try to buck the economy-led trend towards trading down with value-added solutions.