Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Top Takeaways
- Market Overview
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- Figure 1: Total US retail sales and forecast of frozen snacks, at current prices, 2015-25
- Impact of COVID-19 on Frozen Snacks
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- Figure 2: Short-, medium- and longer-term impact of COVID-19 on frozen snacks, May 2020
- Challenges and Opportunities
- Re-emergence
- Recessions give a lift to frozen snacks
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- Figure 3: Total US retail sales and forecast of frozen snacks, at current prices, 2006-10
- Figure 4: Unemployment - Recession versus pandemic, Dec 2007-May 2009 and Dec 2018-May 2020
- Price far outranks brand
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- Figure 5: Price, brand and frozen snacks, April 2020
- Recovery
- Households freeze out frozen snacks as kids age
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- Figure 6: Repertoire of frozen snack purchase, by parental status, April 2020
- Health concerns stand in the way of increased adult consumption
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- Figure 7: Attitudes toward frozen snacks – Net any agree/disagree, April 2020
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Pandemic closures provide boon to frozen snack sales
- Handheld entrees see the bigger boost
- Prime time for private label
- Children are the present; the future is unclear
Market Size and Forecast
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- 2020 sees strong COVID-19-related growth
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- Figure 8: Total US retail sales and forecast of frozen snacks, at current prices, 2015-25
- Figure 9: Total US retail sales and forecast of frozen snacks, at current prices, 2015-25
Market Breakdown
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- Appetizers/snack rolls continued to pick up share in 2020-21
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- Figure 10: Sales of frozen snacks, by segment, 2018 and 2020
- Shifts in spending priorities redirects channel choice
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- Figure 11: Total US retail sales of frozen snacks, by channel, at current prices, 2015-20
- Figure 12: Change in spending priorities, July 2020
Market Perspective
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- Challenges to restaurants leave an appetizing gap to be filled
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- Figure 13: Restaurant behaviors, October 2019
- Consumers continue to turn to snacking
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- Figure 14: Snacking in place of meals, by age, February 2020
Market Factors
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- Restaurant spend shifts to retail
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- Figure 15: Changes in spending habits due to coronavirus, April-July 2020
- ‘Aging out’ of the category poses structural problem for frozen snacks
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- Figure 16: US population share, by age, 2011-21
- Brands will need to plan to address shrinking households with children
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- Figure 17: Households, by presence of related children, 2008-18
- School/daycare closures amid pandemic likely led to uptick in sales
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- Figure 18: Public school students, by grade, fall 2019
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- COVID-19 breathes life into once floundering brands
- Frozen snack consumers turning to the familiar
- Shifting notions of health portend problems
- A return to the next normal
Company and Brand Sales of Frozen Snacks
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- Large year-on-year growth for top ten category players
- Sales of frozen snacks by company
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- Figure 19: Sales of frozen snacks, by company, 2019 and 2020
What’s Working
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- Demand for convenience-plus
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- Figure 20: Frozen snack launches in the US, by claim category, 2015-19
- Deriving comfort from nostalgia
What’s Struggling
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- Lean times for lean brands
What to Watch
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- BFY frozen snacks will get a refresh
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- Figure 21: Interest in healthier frozen snacks, any agree, April 2020
- Recession will boost private label frozen snacks
- Restaurant-branded frozen snacks
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Households with children comprise key frozen snack base
- Consumers seek to stretch their food dollar
- BFY frozen snacks need a contemporary update
- Health fears leading to less frozen snack consumption
- Interest in a variety of international cuisines
- Frozen snack brands could face a reckoning in the next normal
Frozen Snack Purchase
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- More than three quarters of consumers participate in the category
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- Figure 22: Frozen snack purchase, April 2020
- Consumer participation with the category wanes with age
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- Figure 23: Frozen snack purchase, by age, April 2020
- Product choice aligns, declines with child age
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- Figure 24: Frozen snack purchase, by presence and age of children, April 2020
- Small portion of nonparents engage with 1-2 types of frozen snacks
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- Figure 25: Repertoire of frozen snack purchase, by select demographics, April 2020
- Hispanic millennials are increasingly important targets for frozen snack brands
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- Figure 26: Frozen snack purchase, by Hispanic origin, by generation, April 2020
Frozen Snack Purchase Factors
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- Price leads purchase factors
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- Figure 27: Frozen snack purchase factors, April 2020
- Moms more likely to focus on price, while protein content resonates much more with dads
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- Figure 28: Frozen snack purchase factors, by parental status by gender, April 2020
- Lower-income households seeking frozen snacks that can replace a meal
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- Figure 29: Frozen snack purchase factors, by household income, April 2020
- Satiety and protein content of keen interest to Hispanic consumers
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- Figure 30: Frozen snack purchase factors, by Hispanic origin, by generation, April 2020
- Healthy snacks as a comforting meal
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- Figure 31: TURF Analysis – purchase factors, March 2020
Increasing Frozen Snack Purchase
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- Half of consumers would buy more healthy frozen snacks
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- Figure 32: Increasing frozen snack purchase, April 2020
- Health and premium appeal to parents, with a significant interest in sharing
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- Figure 33: Increasing frozen snack purchase, by parental status, by gender, April 2020
- Hispanic consumers seek frozen snacks for sharing
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- Figure 34: Increasing frozen snack purchase, by Hispanic origin, by generation, April 2020
- Healthier options appeal across the most popular frozen snack varieties
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- Figure 35: Increasing frozen snack purchase, by frozen snack purchase, April 2020
International Cuisines in Frozen Snacks
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- Diverse flavor opportunities for frozen snack brands
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- Figure 36: International cuisines in frozen snacks, April 2020
Change in Frozen Snack Consumption
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- Frozen snack usage remains consistent amid pandemic
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- Figure 37: Frozen snack purchase trends, April 2020
- Younger consumers, parents much more likely to be eating frozen snacks more often
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- Figure 38: Frozen snack purchase trends, by demographics, April 2020
- Health concerns top the reasons consumers are eating less frozen snacks
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- Figure 39: Frozen snack purchase deterrents, April 2020
- Frozen snack reducers look for freshness
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- Figure 40: TURF Analysis – frozen snack purchase deterrents, April 2020
Attitudes toward Frozen Snacks
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- Ease being a given, frozen snack consumers turn interest toward health
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- Figure 41: Frozen snack attitudes, April 2020
- Parents seek options that can be customized and potentially serve as childhood favorites for their children
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- Figure 42: Customization, favorites and frozen snacks, any agree, by parental status, April 2020
- Private label primed for growth
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- Figure 43: Brands and frozen snacks, any agree, by presence and number of children in household, April 2020
Frozen Snacks by Consumer Food/Drink Segmentation
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- Figure 44: Food/drink consumer segmentation of frozen snacks, April 2020
- Quality Seekers largely avoid the category
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- Figure 45: Frozen snack purchase, Quality Seekers versus overall consumers, April 2020
- Healthy, natural appeal to Adventure Eaters
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- Figure 46: Quality, health and frozen snacks, any agree, by food/drink consumer segmentation, April 2020
- Time Savers seek to save more than time
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- Figure 47: Frozen snack purchase factors, by food/drink consumer segmentation, April 2020
- Category challenged to resonate with Value Chasers
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- Figure 48: Attitudes toward frozen snack brands, any agree, by food/drink consumer segmentation, April 2020
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Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Sales data
- Forecast
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
Appendix – The Market
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- Figure 49: Total US retail sales and forecast of frozen snacks, at current prices, 2015-25
- Figure 50: Total US retail sales and forecast of frozen snacks, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
- Figure 51: Total US retail sales and forecast of frozen snacks, by segment, at current prices, 2015-25
- Figure 52: Total US retail sales and forecast of frozen appetizers/snack rolls/pretzels, at current prices, 2015-25
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- Figure 53: Total US retail sales and forecast of frozen appetizers/snack rolls/pretzels, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
- Figure 54: Total US retail sales and forecast of frozen handheld entrees, at current prices, 2015-25
- Figure 55: Total US retail sales and forecast of frozen handheld entrees, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
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Appendix – Retail Channels
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- Figure 56: Total US retail sales of frozen snacks, by channel, at current prices, 2015-20
- Figure 57: Total US retail sales of frozen snacks, by channel, at current prices, 2018 and 2020
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- Figure 58: US supermarket sales of frozen snacks, at current prices, 2015-20
- Figure 59: US sales of frozen snacks through other retail channels, at current prices, 2015-20
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Appendix – Key Players
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- Figure 60: Multi-outlet sales of frozen appetizers/snack rolls, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2019 and 2020
- Figure 61: Multi-outlet sales of frozen handheld entrees, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2019 and 2020
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Appendix – TURF Analysis –Frozen Snacks – July 2020 - Methodology
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- Figure 62: TURF Analysis – purchase factors, March 2020
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- Figure 63: Table - TURF Analysis – Frozen snack deterrents, April 2020
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