Table of Contents
Introduction and Abbreviations
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- Definition
- Consumer research
- ACORN
- Advertising data
- Abbreviations
Premier Insight
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- Fortification and functionality
- Restaurant-endorsed
- Taking a health stance
Executive Summary
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- Part of a meal repertoire – not just convenience
- Maximising the opportunity cost of time
- More sophisticated offerings drive growth
- Slowdown in sales
- Health is now the key editor of consumer choice
- Accentuating the positive in healthy choices
- Below the line
- British take the lead
- Own-label dominance
- Most consumers buy ready meals
- Development-driven growth
Market Drivers
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- Drive to convenience
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- Figure 1: Female workforce, 2000-05
- Change in cooking and eating
- Can’t cook, won’t cook
- Older consumers can and will
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- Figure 2: Attitudes towards food preparation and cooking, by lifestage, March 2004
- Cost in time and money
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- Figure 3: Growth in one- and two-person households, 2000-05
- Smaller household time premium
- Formality in mealtimes declining
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- Figure 4: Agreement with the statement ‘We usually have family meal at the weekend’, 2001-05
- Larger households follow
- Rise and rise of foreign foods
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- Figure 5: Agreement with the statement ‘I enjoy eating foreign foods’, by gender, age and socio-economic group, 2002-05
- Familiarity breeds demand
- Brands vs own-label growth
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- Figure 6: Agreement with the statement ‘On the whole I think well-known brands are better than a shop’s own-brand’, by gender, age and socio-economic group, 2002-05
- Improving perceptions of own-label
- Quality counts
- No hiding from the health issue
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- Figure 7: Agreement with lifestyle statements about diet and health, 2001-05
- 2005 marked a sea change
- Alternative conveniences
- Move upmarket
- Microwave usage growing…
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- Figure 8: Trends in GB household ownership of microwave ovens, 2001-05
- ..but raising health concerns
Market Size
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- A decade of growth
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- Figure 9: UK retail value sales of chilled ready meals, 2001-06
- Convenience to the fore
- Accelerated growth for chilled
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- Figure 10: UK retail sales of chilled and frozen ready meals, 2001-05
- Healthy eating creating a challenging market
- Driving up product quality
- Value lines have improved
Market Segmentation
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- Figure 11: Chilled ready meals market segementation, 2004 and 2005
- By price point and target market
- Premium
- Hero ingredients
- Provenance is becoming a key tool in the premium sector
- Branded competition
- Value
- An important weapon
- ‘Healthy’ meals
- Better for you
- Seasonality
- Healthily balanced
- Vegetarian/meat-free
- Children
- By cuisine – International vs British
- Traditional British
- Ethnic recipes, serve-over and bagged meals
- Choice matters
- Indian
- Offering variety
- Chinese
- More regional options
- Thai and other Oriental
- Italian
- Tex-Mex/American
- Other international
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The Supply Structure
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- Figure 12: UK retail share of chilled ready meals, by retailer, 2001-05
- Food market shares
- Retail brands drive growth
- Major multiples
- Tesco
- Tesco Finest
- Healthy Living
- Tesco Value
- Others
- Marks & Spencer
- International meals
- British meals
- Healthy eating
- Children
- Sainsbury's
- Taste the Difference
- Be Good to Yourself
- Kids
- Basics
- Others
- Asda
- Extra Special
- Good for You!
- Indian
- Oriental and other international
- Great Stuff
- Value
- Morrisons
- Best
- Eat Smart
- Favourites
- Others
- Waitrose
- As Good as Going Out
- International dishes
- Perfectly Balanced
- Own-label and brand suppliers
- Bighams
- Duchy Originals
- Geest
- Greencore
- Kerry Foods
- Northern Foods
- Premier Foods
- S&A Foods
- Steam
- Young’s Bluecrest
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New Product Development
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- Introduction
- Better British
- International developments
- More Italian
- Interest for Indian
- Meal kit inspiration from Tex-Mex
- Healthy eating
- Children
- Packaging
- Forecast for NPD
- New product briefs
Advertising and Promotion
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- Spend on ranges rather than meals
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- Figure 13: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on prepared food range, by grocery supermarkets, 2001-05
- Marks & Spencer leads
- Young’s invests
The Consumer – Product Purchasing
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- Figure 14: Chilled ready meals purchased in the last six months, October-November 2005
- Young leaders
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- Figure 15: Purchase of chilled ready meals, by gender, age, socio-economic group and household size, October-November 2005
- Older consumer weaker purchasers
- Third agers emerging
- Cafeteria kitchen
- M&S reputation
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- Figure 16: Purchasing of any ready meal, by retailer, October-November 2005
- Men are key purchasers
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- Figure 17: Types of chilled ready meals purchased, by gender, October-November 2005
- Men prefer Asian cuisine
- Women prefer lighter dishes
- Price is not an issue
- Premium ready meals
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- Figure 18: Types of chilled ready meals purchased, by socio-economic group, October-November 2005
- Upmarket consumers look for vegetarian meals
- Healthy women
- Italian for older consumers
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The Consumer – Product Purchasing: Detailed Demographics
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- Figure 19: Chilled ready meals purchased, by gender, age and socio-economic group, October-November 2005
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- Figure 20: Chilled ready meals purchased, by presence of children, lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, October-November 2005
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- Figure 21: Chilled ready meals purchased, by working status, marital status and household size, October-November 2005
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- Figure 22: Chilled ready meals purchased, by region and ACORN category, October-November 2005
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- Figure 23: Chilled ready meals purchased, by media usage, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, October-November 2005
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The Consumer – Attitudes and Behaviours
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- Figure 24: Attitudes towards chilled ready meals, October-November 2005
- Convenience is of prime importance
- Men want it easy
- Older on standby
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- Figure 25: Attitudes towards chilled ready meals, by socio-economic group, October-November 2005
- Frozen vs chilled
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- Figure 26: Chilled vs frozen attributes, October-November 2005**
- Simplicity and speed of cooking are seen as key strengths
- Weaknesses
- Price and promotion
- The chilled ready meal consumer
- Cooking and eating habits
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- Figure 27: Chilled ready meal buyers, by cooking and eating habits, October-November 2005
- Food Fraudsters
- Ready meals and the evening meal
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- Figure 28: Chilled ready meal buyers, by attitudes towards the evening meal, October-November 2005
- Chilled ready meal purchasers have a less structured approach
- Competition with takeaways
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- Figure 29: Number of times a week eat out or take away, by type of ready meal purchased, October-November 2005
- Do chilled ready meals really compete?
- By cuisine type
- Conclusion
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Detailed Demographics
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- Figure 30: Attitudes towards chilled ready meals, by gender, age and socio-economic group, October-November 2005
- Figure 31: Attitudes towards chilled ready meals, by presence of children, lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, October-November 2005
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- Figure 32: Attitudes towards chilled ready meals, by marital status, working status and household size, October-November 2005
- Figure 33: Attitudes towards chilled ready meals, by region and ACORN category, October-November 2005
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- Figure 34: Attitudes towards chilled ready meals, by media usage, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, October-November 2005
- Figure 35: Attitudes towards chilled ready meals, by gender, age and socio-economic group, October-November 2005
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- Figure 36: Attitudes towards chilled ready meals, by presence of children, lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, October-November 2005
- Figure 37: Attitudes towards chilled ready meals, by marital status, working status and household size, October-November 2005
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- Figure 38: Attitudes towards chilled ready meals, by region and ACORN category, October-November 2005
- Figure 39: Attitudes towards chilled ready meals, by media usage, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, October-November 2005
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The Future
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- Prevalent conditions are positive
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- Figure 40: Projected one- and two-person households, 2005-10
- Impact of age
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- Figure 41: Projected UK population, by lifestage, 2006-11
- Retiring in a golden age of health, wealth and freedom
- New consumer demands
- Improving the image
- Naturally better
- Manufacturer presence
- Far-flung options
Forecast
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- Figure 42: Forecast of UK retail value sales of chilled ready meals, 2006-11
- No chilling the growth in chilled ready meals
- Economic conditions are favourable
- Meeting new need states
- Factors used in the forecast
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