Ready Meals: Challenges and Opportunities To Reach Market Potential

Large unmet market potential in chilled ready meals in China and the US

Although ready meals sales are forecast to remain more dependent on developed markets than other packaged food categories, the unmet market potential is high in key emerging markets, notably China. Meeting the market potential would involve more varied products and wider distribution. Among developed markets, the US has the world’s highest unmet market potential for chilled ready meals, which may be achieved mostly through encroaching on adjacent categories, but also by increasing the assortment at convenience stores.

Competition from foodservice encourages shift towards premium and “authentic” ranges

Reaching the unmet market potential in ready meals, particularly for pizza, involves tapping into foodservice demand, notably by competing against takeaways. This is encouraging manufacturers to develop more premium ranges, mirror ethnic food trends, and seek collaborations with foodservice chains or celebrity chefs. This also feeds demand for more “authentic” and regional recipes, and for greater ingredient traceability.

Ready meals seek to target healthy snacking and on-the-go consumption

Responding to the increasing overlap between snacking occasions and meals in eating habits, especially among young adults, manufacturers seek to adapt their offer with ready meals suitable for on-the-go consumption, and are responding to the rise in demand for more nutritious and healthier snacks.

Free-from, organic and vegetarian ranges make inroads

Free-from and organic ready meals are outperforming overall ready meals sales in the US and Western Europe. Some US organic brands are making inroads following their acquisition by major global food companies, enabling them to reach wider distribution, while retailers focus on organic private label ranges. The emergence of new ranges targeting vegetarians is being driven in part by the rise in the number of so-called “flexitarians”, who actively reduce meat consumption.