Table of Contents
Introduction and Abbreviations
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- Ready-to-Cook Foods – UK, Market Intelligence, June 2004.
- Definition
- Consumer research
- Lifestage and Special Groups
- ACORN
- Advertising data
- Abbreviations
Premier Insights
Executive Summary
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- Capitalising on convenience
- Standing out from the crowd
- Competing on price
- International meals top of the list
- Healthy and premium segments attract
- Success for the store is success for the product
- Convenience retailing a convenience product?
- Chilled has broadened the base
- Moving forward…but at a slower pace
Market Drivers
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- Need for convenience
- The perception of quality
- Restaurants and takeaways set the bar
- Boom in ethnic meals continues
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- Figure 1: Agreement/disagreement with the statement: ‘I enjoy eating foreign food’, 1997-2003
- Women are staying out of the kitchen
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- Figure 2: Workforce in employment in the UK, by gender and employment level, 1999-2008
- Demographics
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- Figure 3: Trends and projections in total UK population, by age group, 1999-2008
- Enough wealth pushes convenience as a priority
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- Figure 4: PDI and consumer expenditure, 1999-2008
- A market reliant on NPD
Market Size and Trends
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- Popularity of chilled meals continues to increase
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- Figure 5: UK retail value sales of chilled ready meals, 1999-2004
- The emergence of a value sector
- Competition shifts the market to low prices…
- …but premium positioning is still a draw
- Frozen meals lagging further behind chilled
- An attractive fixture
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- Figure 6: UK retail sales of chilled and frozen ready meals, 1999-2004
Market Segmentation
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- Recipe origin
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- Figure 7: UK retail sales of chilled ready meals, by cuisine, 1999-2003
- Any unexplored regions for cuisine?
- Premium
- ‘Healthy’ meals
- Children
- Ethnic recipes, serve-over and bagged meals
- Indian and Chinese
- Thai and other Oriental
- Tex-Mex/American
- Italian
- Mediterranean and other European
- Traditional sector
- Vegetarian/meat-free
- Organic
- Value
The Supply Structure
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- Overwhelmingly own-label
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- Figure 8: UK retail share of chilled ready meals, by retailer, 1999-2003
- Fierce competition in the retail sector
- Major multiples
- Marks & Spencer
- Viva la Med
- Count On Us
- Italian
- Chinese/Indian
- Traditional British
- American
- Café Culture
- Vegetarian
- Children
- Tesco
- Tesco Finest
- Healthy Living
- Tesco British Classics
- Tesco Value
- Vegetarian and vegetables
- Sainsbury's
- Taste the Difference
- Be Good to Yourself
- Ethnic meals
- Italian
- Asda
- Good recent performance
- Good for You
- Extra Special
- Indian and Oriental
- Others
- Safeway/Morrisons
- Waitrose
- Wide product range
- Perfectly Balanced
- Indian/Oriental
- Bistro
- Own-label suppliers
- Geest
- Greencore
- Northern Foods
- S&A Foods
- Noon Products/WT Foods
- Others
New Product Briefs
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- May 2004
Advertising and Promotion
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- Spend on ranges rather than meals
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- Figure 9: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on prepared food range, by grocery supermarkets, 1999-2003
- Below-the-line promotion
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- Figure 10: Selected below-the-line promotions run on chilled ready meals, January-February 2004
Distribution
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- Big multiples dominate
- City centre retailing
- Convenience shopping
- Merchandising
The Consumer
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- Ready meals – an overview
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- Figure 11: GB household penetration and weight of usage of ready meals (any type), 1999-2003
- More women buy, men buy more
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- Figure 12: Penetration and weight of usage of ready meals (any type), by gender, age and socio-economic group, 2003
- Products seek to attract families, but pre-families core consumer groups
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- Figure 13: Penetration and weight of usage of ready meals (any type), by lifestage, presence of children and Mintel’s Special Groups, 2003
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- Figure 14: Penetration and weight of usage of ready meals (any type), by marital status, working status and household size, 2003
- Types of chilled ready meals
- Choices even across recipe types
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- Figure 15: Types of chilled ready meals purchased, January 2004
- Detailed demographics – traditional and Italian meals
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- Figure 16: Usage of traditional/Italian chilled ready meals, by gender, age and region, January 2004
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- Figure 17: Usage of traditional/Italian chilled ready meals, by socio-economic status, working status and ACORN groups, January 2004
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- Figure 18: Usage of traditional/Italian chilled ready meals, by presence of children, household size, lifestage and Mintel’s special groups, January 2004
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- Figure 19: Usage of traditional/Italian chilled ready meals, by media usage, television viewing and supermarkets shopped, January 2004
- Usage of ethnic meals
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- Figure 20: Usage of ethnic chilled ready meals, by gender, age and region, January 2004
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- Figure 21: Usage of ethnic chilled ready meals, by socio-economic status, working status, and ACORN groups, January 2004
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- Figure 22: Usage of ethnic chilled ready meals, by presence of children, household size, lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, January 2004
The Consumer – Attitudes and Enthusiasm
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- Attitudes towards chilled ready meals
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- Figure 24: General ready meal opinions, chilled ready meal eaters and non-eaters, January 2004
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- Figure 25: Chilled ready meal buyers’ attitudes towards ready meals, by age, gender and region, January 2004
- Socio-economic status loses its impact
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- Figure 26: Chilled ready meal buyers attitudes towards ready meals, by socio-economic status, working status, and ACORN categories, January 2004
- A money saver for the smaller household
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- Figure 27: Chilled ready meal buyers attitudes towards ready meals, by presence of children, household size, lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, January 2004
- Convenience sells across all multiples
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- Figure 28: Chilled ready meal buyers attitudes towards ready meals, by media usage, television viewing and supermarkets usage, January 2004
- Assessing target groups for chilled versus frozen ready meals
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- Figure 29: CHAID analysis of chilled and frozen ready meal users, January 2004
- Assessing enthusiasm
- Traditional hits with most buyers
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- Figure 30: Chilled ready meal repertoire, by types of chilled ready meals, January 2004
- Helping them diet
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- Figure 31: Chilled ready meal repertoire, by attitudes to ready meals, January 2004
- Variety purchasers still creatures of habit
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- Figure 32: Chilled ready meal repertoire, by cooking habits, January 2004
- Comparing solus with crossover users
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- Figure 33: Comparing chilled and frozen ready meal users, including solus users, by type of ready meals, January 2004
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- Figure 34: Comparing chilled and frozen ready meal users, solus users, by ready meal attitudes, January 2004
- Starting a new tradition
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- Figure 35: Comparing chilled and frozen ready meal users, solus users, by cooking habits, January 2004
Detailed Demographics
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- Detailed demographics – repertoire
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- Figure 36: Chilled ready meal repertoire, by gender, age and region, January 2004
- Figure 37: Chilled ready meal repertoire, by socio-economic group, working status and ACORN categories, January 2004
- Figure 38: Chilled ready meal repertoire, by presence of children, household size, lifestage and Mintel's Special Groups, January 2004
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- Figure 39: Chilled ready meal repertoire, by media usage, television viewing and supermarkets shopped, January 2004
- Detailed demographics – frozen and chilled exclusive nets
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- Figure 40: Comparing chilled and frozen ready meal users, solus users, by age, gender, marital status and region, January 2004
- Figure 41: Comparing chilled and frozen ready meal users, solus users, by socio-economic groups, working status, ACORN categories, January 2004
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- Figure 42: Comparing chilled and frozen ready meal users, solus users, by presence of children, household size, lifestage and Mintel's Special Groups, January 2004
- Figure 43: Comparing chilled and frozen ready meal users, solus users, by media usage, television viewing and supermarkets usage, January 2004
The Future
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- Convenience
- Demographics
- NPD
- Health
- Competition
- …from ready meals
- …from cooking sauces
- ...from fresh prepared foods
- …from restaurants
- Retail changes
- The industry
Forecast
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- Figure 44: Forecast of the UK chilled ready meals market, 2004-09
- Figure 45: Forecast of the UK chilled ready meals market, 2004-09
- Demand for convenience is still a key factor to drive sales
- Competitors in the market…
- Improvement will be key to success
- Factors used in the forecast
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