Ready meals market will rise to US$146,247 million by 2023

With people adopting busier lifestyles they do not have the time to spend on cooking, and the demand for quick and easy meals is increasing. Ready meals are precooked dishes that require minimal preparation and cooking time, and the convenience associated with them is attractive to these time-sensitive consumers.

Allied Market Research has published a report called ‘Ready meals Market by Type, and Distribution Channel: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2017–2023’, which segmented the global ready meals market based on type, distribution channel and geography. Type divided the market into categories such as chilled pizza, dried ready meals, frozen pizza and prepared salads, while the distribution channels looked at store based or online. Geographically, the report included North America, Europe, Asia–Pacific and LAMEA.

Ready meals are particularly popular among low-income consumers such as students, and those who only want to cook single portions. Although ready meals often appeal to those who want to create meals with minimal effort, the report suggested that online portals are not as popular as store-based retail outlets as consumers prefer to view the products in person.

In 2016, the ready meals market was valued at US$72,257 million (about AU$91,057 million), and this is expected to rise to US$146,247 million (about AU$184,301 million) by 2023. It will have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.6% during the forecast period, according to the report. However, the market growth has been hindered by poor quality products and negative health connotations associated with these types of foods.

Consumers are moving away from traditional ready meal options, which often have poor nutritional value. Frozen pizza ranked as the highest investment opportunity, along with prepared salad, as they are considered the freshest ready-made options by consumers. Frozen pizza has been gaining popularity in the global ready meals market, and chilled pizza is expected to follow suit with a projected CAGR of 14.1% during the forecast period. Together, frozen and chilled pizza accounted for more than a one-third share in the global ready meals market in 2016.

As well as nutritional concerns, consumers are often driven by quality and poor transportation and storing procedures could hinder the quality of ready meals. Therefore, manufacturers aim to improve packaging to ensure the flavour, texture and quality of the meals are maintained in the future.

Europe has dominated the global ready meals market in the past and is expected to continue to grow at a substantial CAGR. This is due to the fact that the food and drink sector is continuously growing and there is a consistently increasing demand for packaged food.

In 2016, Europe and Asia–Pacific accounted for about a three-fifths share of the total ready meals market. The increasing consumption of ready meals in Asia–Pacific can be attributed to the growing population and stable economic growth. By 2023, the report suggested that China will take up over half of the total share of the Asia–Pacific ready meals market.

Regardless of the nutritional value and perceived quality, the convenience that ready meals provide consumers ensure their continued popularity in the future. The prominent companies in the report suggested their key strategy to gain significant share in the market was product launch. Prominent players in the report included: Bakkavor Foods Ltd, JH Heinz Company Ltd, Nestle SA, Unilever Group, Northern Food Ltd, Kerry Foods Ltd and Premier Foods Group Ltd.

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