Table of Contents
Issues in the Market
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- Key themes in the report
- Definition
- Abbreviations
Insights and Opportunities
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- Maintaining momentum with meal deals
- Finding middle ground with a new frozen organic line
Market in Brief
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- Market growth falters in 2009
- Health and green issues enter the mainstream
- Competition posed by eating out and home cooking
- Premium Irish producers carve out a niche
- British supermarkets move in
- Health, clean labelling and vegetarian claims lead NPD
- Consumer opportunities
- The future
Fast Forward Trends
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- Trend 1: Agelessness
- What's it about?
- What we've seen
- What next?
- Trend 2: Simplicity and Convenience
- What's it about?
- What we've seen
- Specifics
- What next?
Internal Market Environment
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- Key points
- Convenience still a lure as consumers ‘cheat’ at home cooking
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- Figure 1: Agreement with selected lifestyle statements, NI and RoI, 2004-09
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- Figure 2: Agreement with selected lifestyle statements, NI and RoI, 2004-09
- Bubble bursts for celebrity chef endorsements
- Recession prompts a frozen renaissance?
- Health: A key focus for ready meals
- Manufacturers innovate to cut back on salt levels
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- Figure 3: Food Standards Agency 2012 salt reduction targets, UK
- Sat and trans fats a further focus
- Cleaning up ingredients
- Portion control emerges as a trend
- EU moves towards GDA nutritional labelling
- EU health claims regulations
- Environmental and sustainability issues driving market
- Tackling the issue of carbon emissions
- Green lobby calls for meat reduction in ready meals
- Welfare and sustainability come to the fore
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- Figure 4: Agreement with selected lifestyle statements, NI and RoI, 2004-09
- A bigger push for Irish provenance
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- Figure 5: Agreement with selected lifestyle statements, NI and RoI, 2004-09
- Technology advances ready meal production
- Ready meal culture still under attack
Broader Market Environment
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- Key points
- Value and premium ready meals boosted by recession
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- Figure 6: Economic outlook, RoI and NI, 2008-10
- Ready meals manufacturers feel the squeeze
- Evolving retail environment
- RoI sees exodus of key ready meal consumers
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- Figure 7: Population demographics, by age, RoI, 2006-41
- Figure 8: Population demographics, by age, NI, 2008-58
Competitive Context
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- Key points
- Irish go gourmet...with a little help
- Competition within the ready meals sector
- Post-recession: Will dining out become the new dining in?
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- Figure 9: Ready meal vs foodservice market* growth, by outlet sub-categories, all-Ireland, 2004-09
Strengths and Weaknesses
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- Strengths
- Weaknesses
Who’s Innovating?
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- Key points
- Potato toppings and red meat are popular among the Irish
- Wet soup leads NPD growth
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- Figure 10: New launches, by top five sub-categories, IoI, 2007-09
- Chilled rides out recession
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- Figure 11: Percentage of new launches, by storage type, IoI, 2010*
- Own-label grows alongside chilled
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- Figure 12: New launches, by own-label v branded ready meals, IoI, 2007-09
- Convenience, health and eco packaging lead claims
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- Figure 13: New launches, by top ten ready meals claims, IoI, 2007-09
- Health and clean labelling inspire NPD for kids’ meals
- An appetite for healthier ready meals
- Vegetarian meals gain in appeal
- An organic decline in activity during the recession
- Spicing up the ready meals fixture
- Back to basics for some...
- ...but ‘dine in’ trend drives premium NPD, led by M&S
- Eating on the go
Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
- Ready meals sales slide in 2009
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- Figure 14: Estimated retail sales of ready meals*, IoI, RoI and NI, 2005-15
Market Segmentation
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- Key points
- Frozen and chilled dominate ready meals sales
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- Figure 15: Estimated segmentation of ready meals market, by value, IoI, 2010
- Frozen revival proves short-lived
- Chilled sales driven by meal deals
- Steady sales for more affordable sub-categories
Companies and Products
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- Key points
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- Figure 16: Key ready meals manufacturers, NI and RoI, 2010
- Aryzta
- Avonmore Fresh Soup
- Birds Eye
- Cloughbane Farm
- Cully & Sully
- Daily Bake
- Dawn Fresh Foods
- Findus Group
- Young’s Seafood
- Findus
- The Seafood Company
- Glens of Antrim
- Greencore Prepared Meals
- Heinz
- Kepak Convenience Foods
- Kerry Foods
- Mars Foods UK
- Northern Foods
- Premier Foods
The Consumer – Consumption
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- Key points
- Ready meals lose ground in the NI market
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- Figure 17: Penetration of chilled and frozen ready meals, excluding pizza, RoI and NI, 2004-09
- Chilled leaves frozen out in the cold
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- Figure 18: Types of ready meals consumed most often (excluding pizza), RoI and NI, 2005-09
- Light usage most common for chilled meals in both markets
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- Figure 19: Frequency of chilled ready meal consumption (excluding pizza), RoI and NI, 2008 and 2009
- Frozen consumption falls across all frequencies in NI
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- Figure 20: Frequency of frozen ready meal consumption (excluding pizza), RoI and NI, 2008 and 2009
- Ready meals extend wider appeal across types in NI
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- Figure 21: Penetration of chilled and frozen ready meals (excluding pizza), by type, RoI and NI, 2007-09
The Consumer – Preferences
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- Key points
- Pizza, rice/noodle packets and soup lead RoI purchases
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- Figure 22: How often respondents buy selected types of ready meals, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 23: How often respondents buy selected types of ready meals, RoI, May 2010
- NI shoppers prove more adventurous
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- Figure 24: How often respondents buy selected types of ready meals, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 25: How often respondents buy selected types of ready meals, NI, May 2010
- Younger consumers the chief pizza eaters
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- Figure 26: Age groups more inclined to purchase pizza, by frequency of pizza purchase, NI and RoI, May 2010
- Regular buyers of rice/noodle pouches include less affluent consumers
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- Figure 27: Demographics more likely to regularly buy rice/noodle pouches, NI and RoI, May 2010
- Stay-at-home consumers favour soup
- Low uptake of healthier own-label lines among older consumers
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- Figure 28: Demographics more likely to regularly buy premium own-label meals, NI and RoI, May 2010
- Dietary meals bought by both sexes
- Men dominate uptake of global cuisines in RoI
- Under-35s buy more vegetarian ready meals
The Consumer – Attitudes towards Ready Meals
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- Key points
- Attitudes towards ready meals more positive in NI
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- Figure 29: Agreement with selected statements relating to ready meals, NI and RoI, May 2010
- Women aged 35+ turn to convenience factor in NI
- Ready meals rated unhealthy by almost half of RoI consumers
- Meal deals a hit with urban ABC1 females
- Cost less of an issue in NI
- Ready meals dismissed as lazy, sub-standard to home cooking by some
The Consumer – Target Groups
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- Key points
- RoI target groups
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- Figure 30: Consumer target groups, RoI, May 2010
- Convenience Seekers
- Ready Meal Advocates
- Anti-Ready Meals
- NI target groups
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- Figure 31: Consumer target groups, NI, May 2010
- Ready Meal Endorsers
- Unconvinced
- Would-be Chefs
Appendix – Who’s Innovating?
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- Figure 32: New launches, by storage type, IoI, 2007-09
- Figure 33: New launches, by top five launch types type, IoI, 2007-09
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Appendix – The Consumer – Consumer Preferences
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- Figure 34: How often respondents buy soup (including instant, chilled etc), by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 35: How often respondents buy soup (including instant, chilled etc), by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 36: How often respondents buy Italian ready meals (eg lasagne/carbonara), by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 37: How often respondents buy Italian ready meals (eg lasagne/carbonara), by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 38: How often respondents buy Indian ready meals (eg chicken tikka), by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 39: How often respondents buy Indian ready meals (eg chicken tikka), by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 40: How often respondents buy traditional Irish ready meals (eg stew), by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 41: How often respondents buy traditional Irish ready meals (eg stew), by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 42: How often respondents buy Chinese ready meals (eg sweet and sour chicken), by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 43: How often respondents buy Chinese ready meals (eg sweet and sour chicken), by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 44: How often consumers buy ready-made side dishes (eg mashed potato), by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 45: How often consumers buy ready-made side dishes (eg mashed potato), by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 46: How often respondents buy sushi, by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 47: How often respondents buy sushi, by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 48: How often respondents buy any vegetarian ready meal, by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 49: How often respondents buy any vegetarian ready meal, by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 50: How often respondents buy Thai ready meals (eg Thai green curry), by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 51: How often respondents buy Thai ready meals (eg Thai green curry), by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 52: How often respondents buy traditional ready meals (eg roast chicken, burgers etc), by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 53: How often respondents buy traditional ready meals (eg roast chicken, burgers etc), by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 54: How often respondents buy frozen/chilled pizza, by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 55: How often respondents buy frozen/chilled pizza, by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 56: How often respondents buy rice/noodle pouches (eg Uncle Ben’s Express Rice), by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 57: How often respondents buy rice/noodle pouches (eg Uncle Ben’s Express Rice), by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 58: How often consumers buy premium own-label/supermarket ready meals (eg Tesco Finest, Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference), by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 59: How often consumers buy premium own-label/supermarket ready meals (eg Tesco Finest, Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference), by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 60: How often respondents buy healthier eating own-label/supermarket ready meals (eg Tesco Healthy Living, Superquinn Nutritionally Balanced), by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 61: How often respondents buy healthier eating own-label/supermarket ready meals (eg Tesco Healthy Living, Superquinn Nutritionally Balanced), by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 62: How often respondents buy any diet/low-calorie/low-fat ready meal (eg Weight Watchers), by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 63: How often respondents buy any diet/low-calorie/low-fat ready meal (eg Weight Watchers), by demographics, NI, May 2010
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Appendix – The Consumer – Attitudes towards Ready Meals
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- Figure 64: Agreement with selected statements regarding ready meals, by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 65: Agreement with selected statements regarding ready meals, by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 66: Agreement with selected statements regarding ready meals, by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 67: Agreement with selected statements regarding ready meals, by demographics, NI, May 2010
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Appendix – Consumer Target Groups
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- Figure 68: Consumer target groups, by demographics, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 69: Consumer target groups, by demographics, NI, May 2010
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- Figure 70: Agreement with selected statements regarding ready meals, by consumer target groups, RoI, May 2010
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- Figure 71: Agreement with selected statements regarding ready meals, by consumer target groups, NI, May 2010
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