Ready-to-Eat Food Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Ready-to-Eat Food Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The ready-to-eat food market is projected to register a CAGR of 4.3% during the forecast period.

The demand for ready-to-eat food products skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among the consumers that are not fond of cooking food. Additionally, the restaurants restricting services in fear of a rising number of coronavirus cases had insisted consumers cook at home, thereby leading to an increase in the consumption of ready-to-eat products over the medium term.

Ready-to-eat food products turned into one of the few industries that witnessed a surge in immense demand during the coronavirus pandemic. With countries on lockdown and most people working from home, ready-to-cook food products were flying off the shelves over the last few months. One of the India-based online grocery stores named Grofers even reported a sale surge of 170% in the ready-to-eat category, 31% in the ready-made meals and mixes category, and 41% in the frozen food category, indicating a sudden consumer shift from home-cooked food to ready-to-eat products. In fact, it is speculated that this change in consumer behavior is likely to uplift the market studied significantly in 2021 when compared with 2019.

Young consumers spend most of their income on convenient ready-to-eat food products. Young consumers are the easiest targets for ready-to-eat food manufacturing giants. The convenience level of such products helps to increase the total demand in the market across the world.

Ready-to-eat food products are being considered as the closest alternative to regular food, which can be consumed at any time (such as during breakfast, lunch, or dinner). The initiatives taken by regulatory authorities, like ongoing promotional efforts undertaken by the Singapore Health Promotional Board to create awareness regarding frozen foods and fish products, are driving the market growth.

Key Market TrendsReady Meals Segment is Driving the Overall Ready-to-Eat Food Market

The growth of the ready meals market is driven by the increase in the convenience offered, in terms of time-saving, and the little effort required for the preparation of these meals. Moreover, the preference for these meals by the working population and millennials has increased, owing to the fact that they only require heating before consumption, which reduces the overall effort. ​With the increasing demand, manufacturers are focusing on developing innovative products to capture the demand and to achieve major market shares. For instance,​ in 2019, Seara Alimentos launched Seara Rotisserie Fit, a low-calorie, low-sodium, preservative-free ready meals range made using fresh ingredients. The low-calorie range has six different flavor options, including one vegetarian.​

North America Holds the Major Share of Ready-to-Eat Food Market

The market for ready-to-eat food in the North American region is mainly driven by the increasing demand for frozen pizza and handheld breakfast. These are positioned as low-cost products with quality and freshness. Moreover, these meals have gained equal popularity as the foods found in restaurants and foods found in other food outlets in North America. ​Furthermore, chilled ready meals and frozen ready meals are one of the most consumed categories of ready-to-eat food in the country. In addition, companies operating in the market are focusing on adopting strategic measures to achieve a strong foothold in the country, driving the market growth. For instance, in 2018, Conagra Brands Inc. acquired Pinnacle Foods to grab a major share of the fast-growing snack and frozen food markets. The two companies are investing to become the two fastest-growing frozen meal companies with brands, which include Birds Eye, Power Bowls, and Hungry-Man.​

Competitive Landscape

The ready-to-eat food market is highly competitive with the presence of key players operating in the market, such as Nomad Foods Ltd, General Mills, McCain Foods, Premier Foods Group Ltd, and Conagra Brands. High industrial profitability has led manufacturers to develop powerful competitive strategies, which is intensifying the competition among the existing market players. Major players are intensely embarking on product innovation as their prime strategy to consolidate the market. For instance,​ in 2019, M&S Food (Marks & Spencer) became one of the major food retailers in the United Kingdom to launch a range of own-brand halal-ready meals. In response to the increasing demand for a halal diet, customers will be able to shop a range of six Halal Food Authority (HFA)-certified prepared meals available from 36 M&S stores.​

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Companies Mentioned

IBM Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Internap Corporation
Packet Inc. (An Equinix Inc. Company)
Scaleway Inc.
Amazon Web Services Inc
Rackspace Inc.
CenturyLink, Inc.
LightEdge Solutions, Inc

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