Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Definition
Executive Summary
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- The issues
- Category growth accelerates in 2017
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- Figure 1: Total US sales and fan chart forecast of frozen and refrigerated prepared meals, at current prices, 2013-23
- Opportunity to increase use among current purchasers
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- Figure 2: Purchase of prepared meals, March 2018
- Purchasers tend to treat category as a need rather than a want
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- Figure 3: Prepared meals behaviors, March 2018
- The opportunities
- Younger purchasers express interest in wider array of concepts
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- Figure 4: Interest in prepared meal concepts, by age, March 2018
- Opportunity to promote mixing and matching
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- Figure 5: Prepared meals behaviors, March 2018
- Greater variation in portions might expand usage among young adults
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- Figure 6: Attitudes toward prepared meals, by age, March 2018
- What it means
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Category growth accelerates in 2017
- Frozen meals account for bulk of sales
- Sides help drive category growth
Market Size and Forecast
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- Category growth accelerates in 2017
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- Figure 7: Total US sales and fan chart forecast of frozen and refrigerated prepared meals, at current prices, 2013-23
- Figure 8: Total US sales and forecast of frozen and refrigerated prepared meals, at current prices, 2013-23
Market Breakdown
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- Frozen meals account for bulk of sales
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- Figure 9: Share of frozen and refrigerated prepared meals, by segment, 2018
- Single-serve frozen meals maintain positive momentum
- Sides help drive category growth
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- Figure 10: Total US sales of frozen and refrigerated prepared meals, by segment, at current prices, 2013-18
Market Factors
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- Ambitions to eat cleaner, healthier
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- Figure 11: Lifestyle statements: attitudes/opinions about food and health – Any agree
- Perimeter of store offerings meet current consumer demands
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- Figure 12: Attitudes toward the perimeter, any agree, April 2017
- Mounting influence from younger adults
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- Figure 13: Population by generation, 2013-23
- Rise of passionate cookers
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- Figure 14: Cooking segments, by cooking enthusiasts, September 2015 and September 2017
Company and Brand Sales of Prepared Meals
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- ConAgra closes in on Nestle
- Sides drive gains for Pinnacle
- New brands close gap for Kraft Heinz
- Sales of frozen and refrigerated prepared meals by company
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- Figure 15: Sales of frozen and refrigerated prepared meals, by company, 2017 and 2018
What’s Working?
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- Healthier options drive side dish growth
- Fresh takes on comfort food offer permission to indulge
- Marie Callender’s launches Delights
- From smaller brands, comfort food in different sizes and shapes
- Private label gains momentum in an evolving grocery marketplace
What’s Struggling?
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- Sustained growth difficult for big brands
What’s Next?
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- Could conventional cooking methods make a comeback?
- Catering to an increasingly diverse array of needs and preferences
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Opportunity to increase use among current purchasers
- While convenience defines the category, taste is key as well
- Young adults’ diversity of motivations creates targeted opportunities
- All natural ingredients and high protein are top priorities
- Health preferences shift with age
- Hearty comfort food still a top choice for category purchasers
- Young adults interested in a wider array of easy meal options
- Purchasers see improvements in taste and health
Purchase of Prepared Meals
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- Opportunity to increase use among current purchasers
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- Figure 16: Purchase of prepared meals, March 2018
- Young adults more likely to make category purchases, especially frozen sides
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- Figure 17: Purchase of prepared meals, by age, March 2018
- Opportunity to promote sides to larger households
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- Figure 18: Purchase of prepared meals, by age, March 2018
Reasons for Purchasing Prepared Meals
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- While convenience defines the category, taste is key as well
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- Figure 19: Reasons for purchasing of prepared meals, March 2018
- Men especially likely to be motivated by taste
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- Figure 20: Reasons for purchasing of prepared meals, by gender, March 2018
- Young adults’ diversity of motivations creates targeted opportunities
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- Figure 21: Reasons for purchasing of prepared meals, by age, March 2018
Attribute Importance
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- All natural ingredients and high protein are top priorities
- Offering a twist on the familiar could be effective in habit-driven category
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- Figure 22: Prepared meal attribute importance, March 2018
- Health preferences shift with age
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- Figure 23: Prepared meal attribute importance, by age, March 2018
Prepared Meal Concepts
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- Hearty comfort food still a top choice for category purchasers
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- Figure 24: Interest in prepared meal concepts, by age, March 2018
- Women more likely to be interested in portability, creativity
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- Figure 25: Interest in prepared meal concepts, by gender, March 2018
- Younger purchasers express interest in wider array of concepts
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- Figure 26: Interest in prepared meal concepts, by age, March 2018
Prepared Meals Behaviors
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- Purchasers tend to treat category as a need rather than a want
- Opportunity to promote mixing and matching
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- Figure 27: Prepared meals behaviors, March 2018
- Young adults interested in a wider array of easy meal options
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- Figure 28: Prepared meals behaviors, by age, March 2018
Attitudes toward Prepared Meals
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- Purchasers see improvements in taste and health
- Convenience is a given, but other ideas have the potential to differentiate
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- Figure 29: Attitudes toward prepared meals, March 2018
- Greater variation in portions might expand usage among young adults
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- Figure 30: Attitudes toward prepared meals, by age, March 2018
- Positive attitudes correlate to increased purchases
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- Figure 31: Attitudes toward prepared meals, by change in purchase frequency, March 2018
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Sales data
- Fan chart forecast
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Appendix – The Market
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- Figure 32: Total US sales and forecast of frozen and refrigerated prepared meals, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2013-23
- Figure 33: Total US retail sales and forecast of single-serve frozen meals, at current prices, 2013-23
- Figure 34: Total US retail sales and forecast of multi-serve frozen meals, at current prices, 2013-23
- Figure 35: Total US retail sales and forecast of refrigerated meals, at current prices, 2013-23
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- Figure 36: Total US retail sales and forecast of side dishes, at current prices, 2013-23
- Figure 37: Total US retail sales of frozen and refrigerated meals, by channel, at current prices, 2013-18
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Appendix – Key Players
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- Figure 38: Multi-outlet sales of single-serve frozen meals, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2017 and 2018
- Figure 39: Multi-outlet sales of multi-serve frozen meals, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2017 and 2018
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- Figure 40: Multi-outlet sales of refrigerated meals, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2017 and 2018
- Figure 41: Multi-outlet sales of side dishes, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2017 and 2018
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