Frozen food manufacturers are emerging as uncustomary winners of the current economic climate, according to consumer research for the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).
Researchers Inside Track reported to the FDF’s Frozen Food Group and found 80% of people value frozen food because of its storage and convenience benefits while 75% said they thought quality has improved.
Overall, 49% of those questioned cited frozen food as something which will actually help them through the credit crunch.
“Consumers appreciate that there is less waste with frozen food and, in fact, over two-thirds (67%) choose frozen food because it minimises food wastage. Less wastage means that money is saved, which is obviously of concern to people in these tough times. Another advantage is, of course, the benefit to the environment,” said Norman Soutar, chairman of the Frozen Food Group.
“Consumers also find frozen food convenient to use, with good nutritional value, which is good news for manufacturers and retailers alike as the industry responds to changing consumer needs with innovative NPD and marketing campaigns.
“We saw good sales growth in frozen food last year, and we expect to see continued growth over the coming months.”
Northern Foods boast one such example of an uptake in frozen foods, having announced last month that good sales of its Goodfellas and San Marco pizza brands contributed to an 8.8% rise in sales last quarter.
