Frozen Snacks - US - April 2014
Scope and Themes
 
What you need to know 
The $4.6 billion frozen snacks category grew just 9% from 2008-13. Although both segments within the category benefit from fairly high household penetration rates, negative perceptions about their processed nature, and frozen foods in general, have the potential to suppress future growth. Despite poor nutritional perceptions related to the category, consumers continue to seek out the products, especially because of their convenience, as snacking occasions increase. Product reformulations, new formats, and flavors will help the category grow, especially among younger consumers, men, and households with children, who over index in use. Greater retail availability, especially in nonsupermarket channels, such as convenience stores and warehouse stores, will also contribute to future growth.

Mintel provides a comprehensive analysis of the following factors that have the greatest potential to impact the category’s performance:

●	Types of frozen snacks purchased and how purchase preferences differ by demographics
●	Occasions in which frozen snacks are consumed, including use as snacks and meal replacements
●	Reasons for not consuming frozen snacks related to health, price, convenience, flavor, or format
●	Impact of shifting US demographics including fewer households with children and increasing ethnic populations
●	How health, price, flavor, and function impact consumer attitudes toward frozen snacks
●	The factors that have the most influence on purchases of frozen snacks
●	Attributes associated with a variety of frozen snacks including frozen appetizers and frozen handhelds
●	Current product positioning and what marketing strategies make the most sense given the various target audiences that manufacturers are trying to connect with to maximize sales opportunities
●	Which brands are gaining, which are losing, and why, within the market
●	How factors such as increased snacking occasions and health concerns are impacting the market as a whole

Definition 
This report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s Frozen Snacks – US, May 2013, as well as the 2012, 2007, 2008, and 2010 reports bearing the same name. The report also builds on analysis presented in Mintel’s Frozen Handheld – US, June 2012. 

For the purposes of this report, Mintel has used the following definitions:

●	Frozen appetizers/snack rolls/pretzels (eg Totino’s Pizza Rolls, Bagel Bites, T.G.I. Friday’s potato skins, SUPERPRETZEL)
●	Frozen handheld entrees (eg Hot Pockets, burritos, sandwiches).

Not included in this report are:

●	Frozen breaded vegetables, such as breaded mushrooms 
●	Frozen chicken products, such as chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, and chicken fingers 
●	Frozen dinners or entrées 
●	Refrigerated or shelf-stable snacks of any kind

Value figures throughout this report are at (rsp) retail selling prices excluding sales tax unless otherwise stated. 

Data sources
Sales data
●	Market Size and Forecast: Total retail sales based on Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews; US Census Bureau, Economic Census; Progressive Grocer's Consumer Expenditures Study.
●	Segment Performance: Total retail sales based on Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews; US Census Bureau, Economic Census; Progressive Grocer's Consumer Expenditures Study.
●	Retail Channels: Based on Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews; US Census Bureau, Economic Census; Progressive Grocer's Consumer Expenditures Study; except supermarket and drugstore sales, which are based on Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews.
●	Leading Companies and Brand Share: Based on MULO sales data from Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews. MULO is defined as Multi Outlet, representative of the following channels: total US Grocery, Mass, Total US Drug, Total Walmart, Dollar, Military, and Club. Note that the values shown in this section differ from the Market Size/Forecast and Segment Performance sections of this report. Companies and brands sales data encompasses only sales through MULO channels, while Market Size/Forecast and Segment sales cover the entire retail market.

Consumer survey data
For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through GMI to explore consumer consumption of and attitudes toward frozen snacks. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in February 2014 among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.

Mintel selects survey respondents by gender, age, household income, and region so that they are proportionally representative of the US adult population using the internet. Mintel also slightly oversamples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in the survey results and to allow for more precise parameter estimates from the reported findings.

Mintel has also analyzed data from Experian Marketing Services, using the Simmons NCS (National Consumer Study), the Simmons NHCS (National Hispanic Consumer Study), the Simmons NCS Teen Study, and the Simmons NCS Kids Study.

The Experian Marketing Services, Simmons NCS/NHCS was carried out during November 2012-Devember 2013 and the results are based on the sample of 23,689 adults aged 18+, with results weighted to represent the US adult population. 

In addition to quantitative consumer research, Mintel also conducted an online discussion group among a demographically mixed group of 21 adults aged 18+. This discussion group was asynchronous (ie, not run in real time), functioning like a blog or bulletin board, with questions remaining posted for a predetermined period of time. This method allows participants to respond reflectively, at their leisure, or to log off to think about any issues raised, and return later to respond. Participants were recruited from GMI’s online consumer panel. All quotes are included verbatim, and as such, include typos and other grammatical errors as they originally appeared.

While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.

Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
The following is a list of abbreviations used in this report. 

AFFI 	American Frozen Food Institute	
BFY 	Better for you	
CPI 	Consumer Price Index	
FDA 	US Food and Drug Administration	
GMO 	Genetically modified organism	
GNPD 	Global New Products Database	
MULO 	Multi Outlet, representative of the following channels: total US Grocery, Mass, total US Drug, total Walmart, Dollar, Military, and Club	
NCS/NHCS 	National Consumer Study/National Hispanic Consumer Study (Experian Marketing Services)	
rsp 	Retail selling price	
USDA 	United States Department of Agriculture	

Generations are discussed within this report, and they are defined as: 

World War II/Swing generations 	Members of the WWII Generation were born in 1932 or before and are aged 82 or older in 2014. Members of the Swing Generation were born from 1933 to 1945 and are aged 69-81 in 2014.	
Baby Boomers 	The generation born between 1946 and 1964. In 2014, Baby Boomers are between the ages of 50 and 68.	
Generation X 	The generation born between 1965 and 1976. In 2014, Gen Xers are between the ages of 38 and 49.	
Millennials *	Born between 1977 and 1994, Millennials are aged 20 to 37 in 2014.	
iGeneration 	Born between 1995 and 2007, members of iGen are aged 7-19 in 2014.	
Emerging generation 	The newest generation began in 2008 as the annual number of births declined sharply with the recession. In 2014 members of this as-yet unnamed generation are under age 7.	

* also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers

In order to provide an inflation-adjusted price value for markets, Mintel uses the CPI to deflate current prices. The CPI is defined as follows: 

CPI 	The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.

The CPI and its components are typically used to adjust other economic series for price changes and to translate these series into inflation-free dollars. Examples of series adjusted by the CPI include retail sales, hourly and weekly earnings, and components of the national income and product accounts. In addition, and in Mintel reports, the CPI is used as a deflator of the value of the consumer’s dollar to find its purchasing power. The purchasing power of the consumer’s dollar measures the change in the value to the consumer of goods and services that a dollar will buy at different dates. 

The CPI is generally the best measure for adjusting payments to consumers when the intent is to allow consumers to purchase, at today’s prices, a market basket of goods and services equivalent to one that they could purchase in an earlier period. It is also the best measure to use to translate retail sales into real or inflation-free dollars.

Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics definition.