New ingredients key to ready meal innovation

As consumers grow ever more time-poor, many are turning to ready meals. To appeal to an increasingly health-conscious society, ready meal manufacturers need an innovative approach, including new ingredients and premium products.

Parents, busy career types and young city-dwellers who lack cooking skills are most likely to seek out foods that are fast and convenient to prepare.

“People want to free up some time in their busy schedules and are actively looking for convenient products to reduce the time they spend on food preparation,” said Canadean analyst Kirsty Nolan.

A new Canadean report shows that, despite consumers’ increasing awareness of healthy eating, convenience is driving the growth of microwavable food.

“Since its initial launch in the late-60s, the countertop microwave oven has become an essential in modern kitchens globally. The challenge for ready meal manufacturers in the coming years will be to come up with new, innovative products that are positioned around premium quality,” Nolan said.

New products such as Budenheim’s Budal MW500 - an ingredient that keeps microwavable snacks crisp on the outside - have helped manufacturers expand their microwavable product offerings to include croissants and other pastries, which previously haven’t coped well with microwaving.

“Such innovations are making traditional cooking skills obsolete, providing busy consumers with the opportunity to spend time on other activities,” said Nolan.

For more information about microwavable food ingredient trends, see Canadean’s report, ‘Identifying the next new and novel ingredients to shape new product development in the food and soft drinks industries’, published in January 2015.