Table of Contents
Issues in the Market
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- Key themes
- Definitions
- Abbreviations
Insights and Opportunities
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- A higher degree of participation for Irish families
- Sympathetic packaging
- That’s (home) entertainment
Market in Brief
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- Ready-meal nation?
- Impact of social and economic conditions
- The informed consumer
- Greater transparency
- The consumer’s choice
- Who are the target audience?
- Jamie Oliver vs Delia Smith
- Innovation helps keep ready meals sector vibrant
Fast Forward Trends
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- Trend 1: A Play on Brands
- What’s it about?
- What we’ve seen
- What next?
- Trend 2: Superluxe
- What’s it about?
- What we’ve seen
- What next?
Internal Market Environment
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- Key points
- You are what you eat
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- Figure 1: Consumer agreement with statement, ‘I don’t pay sufficient attention to what I eat’, NI and RoI, 2007-08*
- Stripping down – no ‘nasties’ approach
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- Figure 2: Top ten product claims in prepared meals category, UK and Ireland, 2004-08*
- How does health play a role in the market?
- Premium plus value
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- Figure 3: Food and drink purchasing/nutrition: consumers’ preference towards premium, budget and health food, NI and RoI, 2008
- Adding the celebrity sparkle
- It says so on the label
- Evolving food labelling culture in UK and RoI
- Building trust
- The chef within
- Are we really time poor?
- Cheating to get the job done faster but with the same quality
- Is a revival of fortunes imminent in canned and frozen produce?
- Consumers make room for frozen alternatives
- Stretching the pennies
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- Figure 4: Consumer agreement with a range of shopping statements, NI and RoI, 2002-08
- Consumer preference for own-label
- Changing shopping behaviour
Broader Market Environment
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- Key points
- No room for premium as economy takes a nose dive
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- Figure 5: Economic outlook, NI and RoI, 2007-09
- Own-brand a boon to troubled consumers
- Slaving in the kitchen after working all day
- Not working, more fresh ingredients
- Irish consumers are working fewer hours per week
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- Figure 6: NI & RoI average hours worked per week, 2004-08
- Working mums
- Feeding frenzy
- Childcare costs may see more consumers become homemakers
- Domestic gods and goddesses
- More lonely meal times
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- Figure 7: Number of households, by size, NI and RoI, 2000-05
- Women more inclined to be healthy
- Men worry more about health
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- Figure 8: Agreement with statement “I always think of the calories in what I eat”, by gender, NI & RoI, 2007-08
- Meet the gastrosexual
- A taste of abroad
Strengths and Weaknesses
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- Strengths
- Weaknesses
Competitive Context
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- Key points
- Growing interest in cooking impacts ready meals
- Ready meals as an percentage of food retail
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- Figure 9: Ready meals as a proportion of total food retail sales, all-Ireland, 2003-08
- Meaty goodness
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- Figure 10: Estimated value of the meat, fish and poultry market, all-Ireland, 2003-08
- Competition within the ready meals market
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- Figure 11: Sub-category comparison of new products, UK & RoI, 2004-08*
- Prepared meals show year-on-year market dominance
- Attracting the lunch-time trade
Market Value and Forecast
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- Key points
- Social and economic factors impact Ireland’s ready meal sector
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- Figure 12: Market value and forecast of retail sales of ready meals, Ireland, NI and RoI, 2003-13
- Importance of own-label
- Regional trends
- Going forward
New Product Trends in Ready Meals
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- Key points
- Biggest claims
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- Figure 13: New product launches in prepared meals, by claims, UK & RoI, 2004-08
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- Figure 14: New product launches with premium claims vs no additives/preservatives UK & RoI, 2004-08
- Future product trends driving ready meals and convenience foods
- Quick and easy meal solutions
- Less is more
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- Figure 15: Consumer agreement with environmental statements, NI and RoI, 2008
- Sourcing and provenance
- Continued investment in improving convenience food’s image
Who’s Innovating in Convenience?
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- Key points
- The convenience concept flourishes
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- Figure 16: New product launch types in convenience food, by top ten categories, UK & RoI, 2004-08
- Storage trends
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- Figure 17: New product launch types in convenience food, by storage type, UK & RoI, 2004-08
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- Figure 18: Popular claims, active brands and launch types, by sub-category 2004-08
- Prepared meals
- Marks & Spencer Gourmet To Go – Crumbled Tuscan Style Sausage with Penne
- Denny – Cottage Pie
- Simply Organic – prepared meals
- Wet soups
- New Covent Garden Food Co
- Somerfield Best Ever... – Parsnip Soup
- Atkins and Potts – Apple & Butternut Squash Soup
- Asda Extra Special – Roasted Red Pepper & Sun-Dried Tomato Soup
- Table sauces
- Heinz
- Marks & Spencer
- Meal kits
- Waitrose – Irish Stew Mix
Companies and Brands
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- Ready meal manufacturers
- Birds Eye Iglo Group
- Dawn Fresh Foods
- Findus/Youngs
- Green Isle Foods
- Goldstar Meats
- Recent developments
- HJ Heinz
- Kerry Foods
- Masterfoods Ireland
- Premier Foods
- McColgan Quality Foods
- Nestlé
- Unilever Bestfoods
- Ready meal retailers
- Asda
- Dunnes
- Lidl
- Marks & Spencer
- Sainsbury’s
- Tesco
Ready Meal Consumption Trends
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- Key points
- Ready meals more popular among NI consumers
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- Figure 19: Percentage of consumers who state that they have used ready meals chilled or frozen (excluding pizzas) in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, 2002-08
- Social factors will benefit the market
- Women drive demand for healthy ready meals but consumer cutbacks may have negative impact on the market
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- Figure 20: Ready meals, chilled or frozen (excluding pizzas): used in the last 12 months, by gender and age, NI and RoI, 2007 and 2008
- Men make the best cooks?
- Does working and socio-economic status play a part in ready meals’ popularity?
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- Figure 21: Ready meals, chilled or frozen (excluding pizzas): used in the last 12 months, by working and socio-economic status, NI and RoI, 2008
- Consumers don’t want to cook after a hard day’s work
- Changing meal times
- Chilled vs Frozen
- Why do Irish consumer favour chilled alternatives?
- Will frozen ready meals make a comeback?
- Irish consumers defined as light users of ready meals in 2008
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- Figure 22: Ready meals, used in the last 12 months: chilled and frozen frequency total, by type of user, NI and RoI, 2008
- Does consumers’ age play a factor in the ready meal sector?
- Cultural changes in Ireland arouse ethnic taste buds
- Irish consumer favour traditional dishes
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- Figure 23: Ready meals – chilled or frozen (excluding pizzas): Types of food, NI and RoI, 2007 and 2008
- Becoming more ethnically diverse
Attitudes towards Convenience Foods
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- Key points
- Post-boom premiums
- Opportunities to maintain premiums
- Food scares drive demand for quality items
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- Figure 24: Consumers’ agreement to a range of luxury and shopping statements, NI and RoI, 2003-08
- Taking heed of health concerns
- Focusing attention on HSSF (high salt, sugar and/or fat) products
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- Figure 25: Percentage of consumers who claimed to pay no attention to the ingredient content of their food and drink purchases, NI and RoI, 2008
- Greater relationship for food amongst RoI consumers
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- Figure 26: Consumer agreement to a range of food/shopping and lifestyle statements, NI, 2002-08
- Familiarity is best?
- Convenience more important for RoI consumers
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- Figure 27: Consumer agreement with statement, ‘Convenience often plays a part in my purchase decisions’, NI and RoI, 2006-08
- Opportunities to targeting both the young and old
- Increasing eating occasions
Consumer Typologies
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- Key points
- RoI target groups
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- Figure 28: RoI target group, according to attitudes towards food, diet/health and shopping statements, 2008
- Convenience Advocates (24% of respondents)
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding Convenience Advocates
- Delia’s Advocates (22% of respondents)
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding Delia’s Advocates
- Traditional Consumers (18% of respondents)
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding Traditional Consumers
- On-the-go Consumers (18% of respondents)
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding On-the-go Consumers
- Undecided Consumers (18% of respondents)
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding Undecided Consumers
- NI target groups
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- Figure 29: NI target group, according to attitudes towards food, diet/health and shopping statements, 2008
- Reluctant Chefs (24% of respondents)
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding Reluctant Chefs
- Cooking Cheats (21% of respondents)
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding Cooking Cheats
- Life’s Schedulers (20% of respondents)
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding Life’s Schedulers
- Life’s Jugglers (18% of respondents)
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding Life’s Jugglers
- Health Advocates (17% of respondents)
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding Health Advocates
Appendix
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- Conversion rates
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- Figure 30: Exchange rates, 2003-13
- Figure 31: NI population, by gender, 2006-20
- Figure 32: RoI population, by gender, 2006-20
- Who’s innovating?
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- Figure 33: New product launch types in prepared meals, by launch type, UK & RoI, 2004-08
- Figure 34: New product launch types by category, UK & RoI, 2004-08
- Figure 35: New product launch types in wet soup, by launch type, UK & RoI, 2004-08
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- Figure 36: New product launch types in wet soup, by launch type, UK & RoI, 2004-08
- Figure 37: New product launch types in wet soup, by brand, UK & RoI, 2004-08
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- Figure 38: New product launch types in table sauces, UK & RoI, 2004-08
- Figure 39: New product launch types in table sauces, by claim, UK & RoI, 2004-08
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- Figure 40: New product launch types in table sauces, by brand, UK & RoI, 2004-08
- Figure 41: New product launch types in meal kits, by launch type, UK & RoI, 2004-08
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- Figure 42: New product launch types in meal kits, by claims, UK & RoI, 2004-08
- Figure 43: New product launch types in meal kits, by brand, UK & RoI, 2004-08
- NI consumer tables
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- Figure 44: Consumer agreement to a range of lifestyle, food and shopping statements, by demographics, NI, 2008
- Figure 45: Consumer agreement to a range of lifestyle, food and shopping statements, by demographics, NI, 2008
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- Figure 46: Consumer agreement to range of lifestyle and food statements, by demographics, NI, 2008
- NI main shopper consumer statements
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- Figure 47: Consumer usage of ready meals, by demographics, NI, 2008
- Figure 48: Consumer usage of chilled ready meals, by demographics, NI, 2008
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- Figure 49: Consumer usage of frozen ready meals, by demographics, NI, 2008
- RoI consumer statements
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- Figure 50: Consumer agreement to a range of lifestyle, food and shopping statements, by demographics, RoI, 2008
- Figure 51: Consumer agreement to a range of lifestyle, food and shopping statements, by demographics, RoI, 2008
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- Figure 52: Consumer agreement to a range of lifestyle and food statements, by demographics, RoI, 2008
- RoI main shopper consumer statements
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- Figure 53: Consumer usage of ready meals, by demographics, RoI, 2008
- Figure 54: Consumer usage frequency for chilled ready meals, by demographics, RoI, 2008
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- Figure 55: Consumers usage of frozen ready meals, by demographics, RoI, 2008
- Consumer target groups
- NI
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- Figure 56: NI consumer target groups, by demographics, 2008
- RoI
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- Figure 57: RoI consumer target groups, by demographics, 2008
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