Yahoo Finance Death of the ready meal: sales slump during lockdown even as frozen food soars
Families have turned away from quick frozen dinners in lockdown even as sales of frozen food have soared, new figures show.
The Grocer magazine reported a study by consumer analysts Nielsen that showed an increase in sales of frozen goods in lockdown - however, ready meals have declined in popularity.
Richard Harrow, chief executive of the British Frozen Food Federation, a trade body, said the shift could be down to people having more time to cook and therefore becoming less reliant on speedy eats.
“Traditionally we always find that people who buy ready meals heavily are those who are cash rich but time poor,” he said. “A lot of people have a lot more time at the moment.”
The figures quoted in the Grocer showed that sales of frozen food had risen by £194.8m in the 12 weeks to April 18, an increase of 16.1 per cent. This equated to 82 million packs of items like frozen peas, fish fingers and chicken nuggets.
Meanwhile, research by analysts Kantar showed that sales of ready meals had fallen by just over 15 per cent in the month to April 19.
Mr Harrow said that the overall increase in frozen food had come as people have begun making less trips to the supermarket and planning ahead to make their weekly shop last for longer.
Research released last month showed that consumers were making fewer trips to the shops each week but spending more when they got there as they looked to minimise the number of essential journeys out of the house.
Mr Harrow said: “People are thinking, we will only go out once a week but we will buy things that will last.
“Shoppers have been checking their freezers before they go out and taking stock. A challenge our industry has faced is that people are far more likely to go to the fridge than the freezer. We hope this shift will last.”
However, it has not been all bad news for ready meals. Waitrose said sales of its own-label ready meals have increased by 64 per cent since lockdown began, while its frozen chicken and prawn paella proved 10 per cent more popular last week than it was a year ago.
Frozen food can be kept for longer and Mr Harrow said that the panic buying early on in the pandemic had made people more aware of the amount of food they waste.
Some well-known names in fresh food have released frozen products during the lockdown. In May takeaway chain Itsu released a range of frozen beef gyoza, while pasta manufacturer Napolina has launched a series of frozen pasta.
