Abstract
Frozen convenience foods are convenient, quick to prepare and tasty, making them a great fit for today' s typically time-crunched American. Whereas convenience used to mean sacrificing quality for speed, frozen foods now score high in both quality and flavor, with items like frozen meal kits making it easy for consumers to put a "home-cooked" meal on their table with little fuss, and with many newer pizza products claiming to be every bit as good as-if not better than-restaurant take-out. In addition, new customizable options are making the frozen convenience foods even more competitive not only against restaurant take-out but also against the growing range of fresh prepared foods offered by food retailers of virtually every stripe.
This fully updated Packaged Facts report examines the market for frozen convenience foods meant to constitute a meal or snack, including dinners and entrees, pizza, hand-held foods, breakfast foods, appetizers and snacks, and prepared vegetables.
Convenience Foods in the U.S., Volume 2: Frozen Prepared Meals, Entrees, Appetizers and Snacks provides extensive retail sales breakouts along with an examination of consumer trends, the competitive situation, and future trends, including the juggling act consumers are doing between convenience and health, customizable products, natural and superpremium foods, and ethnic product and market targeting.
Using Information Resources, Inc.' s InfoScan Review data, it quantifies marketer and brand shares across nine product categories, with Simmons Market Research Bureau product and brand penetration levels as well as consumer attitudes toward nutrition and time constraints. The report also profiles major marketers of frozen convenience foods, including ConAgra Foods, H.J. Heinz Co., Kraft Foods, Nestlé USA and The Schwan Food Co.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Market Definition: Frozen Convenience Foods
- Nine IRI Categories
- Exclusions
- Report Methodology
- The Market
- Retail Sales Increase to $15.8 Billion in 2007
- Breakfast Meals Grow Fast, Dinners/Entrees Move Slow
- Single-Serve Dinners/Entrees Comprise Largest Category
- Supermarkets the No. 1 Retail Channel
- Figure 1-1: Share of U.S. Retail Sales of Frozen Convenience Foods by Channel, 2007 (percent)
- Market Outlook
- The Marketers
- Over 300 Frozen Convenience Food Players
- Market Leaders
- Important Niche Marketers
- Marketers of Mexican-Style Specialties
- Marketers of Asian and Other International Specialties
- Natural and Vegetarian Marketers
- Restaurant Spin-Offs
- Regional Marketers Serve Regional Tastes
- Competition from Restaurants
- In-Store Competition
- Marketer and Brand Shares
- Number of Entries Steady Across Most Categories
- Table 1-1: Number of Frozen Convenience Food Product Reports, 2005-2007
- Top Marketing Claims: Convenience, Upscale, Natural and Health
- Marketers Spend $254 Million on Advertising
- Focus on Supermarkets
- The Consumer
- Frozen Pizza Enjoys Deepest Household Penetration
- Figure 1-2: Household Purchasing Rates for Selected Frozen Food Categories and Brands, 2007 (percent of U.S. households)
Chapter 2: The Market
- Introduction
- Market Definition: Frozen Convenience Foods
- Nine IRI Categories
- Exclusions
- Market Size and Composition
- Retail Sales Increase to $15.8 Billion in 2007
- Table 2-1: U.S. Retail Sales of Frozen Convenience Foods, 2003-2007 (in millions of dollars)
- Breakfast Meals Grow Fast, Dinners/Entrees Move Slow
- Table 2-2: IRI-Tracked Sales of Frozen Convenience Foods by Category, 2006 vs. 2007 (in millions of dollars)
- Table 2-3: IRI-Tracked Sales of Frozen Convenience Foods by Category, 2002-2006 (in millions of dollars)
- Single-Serve Dinners/Entrees Comprise Largest Category
- Figure 2-1: Share of IRI-Tracked Sales of Frozen Convenience Foods by Category, 2002 vs. 2007 (percent)
- Supermarkets the No. 1 Retail Channel
- Figure 2-2: Share of U.S. Retail Sales of Frozen Convenience Foods by Channel, 2007 (percent)
- Winter Favors Sales of Frozen Convenience Foods
- Market Outlook
- Overall Market Dynamics
- Frozen Dinners/Entrees Require Constant Tweaking
- Frozen Pizza Ups and Downs
- Frozen Hand-Held Entrees Still a Solid Performer
- Frozen Appetizers/Snacks Hold Dual Appeal
- Frozen Breakfast Meals on the Ups
- Convenience Remains a Driving Force
- Convenience Today = Faster
- Blurring Between Meals and Snacks
- Consumers Balancing Convenience and Health
- Figure 2-3: Consumer Attitudes About Healthy Foods and Time Constraints, 2007 (percent of U.S. adults)
- Demographics Shifts Suggest Market Opportunities
- Kids and Teenagers a Driving Force
- Tapping into the Global Palate
- Competition from Fast-Food/Take-Out Industry
- Competition from Food Retailers Ramping Up in Fresh Prepared Deli Foods
- Figure 2-4: Supermarket Shopper Interest in Ready-to-Eat Meal Solutions, 2007 (percent)
- Growth of In-Store Foodservice
- Consumer Demand for Fresh Foods at an All-Time High
- Fighting the Frozen Foods Stigma
- Looking Ahead
- Keep it Fast, Keep It Healthy
- American Consumers: Busier and Busier
- Growing Health Awareness, Ongoing Trends
- Wealthy, Healthy Gourmets and the Obese Poor
- Meals Blurring, Snacks Rising
- Natural and Organic Foods Going Mainstream
- Growth of the Green
- Tesco' s U.S. Entry Heralds Seismic Market Shifts
- Retail Sales Will Surpass $19 Billion by 2012
- Table 2-4: Projected U.S. Retail Sales of Frozen Convenience Foods, 2007-2012 (in millions of dollars)
Chapter 3: The Marketers
- Competitive Overview
- Over 300 Frozen Convenience Food Players
- Market Leaders
- Important Niche Marketers
- Marketers of Mexican-Style Specialties
- Marketers of Asian and Other International Specialties
- Natural and Vegetarian Marketers
- Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestures
- Premium vs. Value Positioning
- Restaurant Spin-Offs
- Regional Marketers Serve Regional Tastes
- Some Marketers Focus on Non-Supermarket Channels
- Some Items Retailed in Both Frozen and Refrigerated Formats
- Private-Label Penetration Small
- Competition from Restaurants
- Competition in the Store
- Table 3-1: Selected U.S. Marketers of Frozen Convenience Foods
- Marketer and Brand Shares
- Methodology
- Nestlé, ConAgra Control Over Half of Single-Serve Dinners Market
- Kraft, Schwan Lead Frozen Pizza Category
- Nestlé Controls Over Half of Hand-Held Non-Breakfast Entrees Market
- Nestlé on Top in Multi-Serve Dinners
- Heinz Takes First Place in Frozen Appetizers/Snacks
- Sara Lee Leads Frozen Hand-Held Breakfast Category
- Pinnacle, Sara Lee Lead in Frozen Breakfast Meals
- ConAgra Dominates Pot Pies Category
- General Mills' Green Giant Looms Over Prepared Vegetables Category
- Table 3-2: Top Marketers of Frozen Single-Serve Dinners by IRI-Tracked Sales and Market Share, 2006-2007 (in millions of dollars)
- Table 3-3: Top Marketers of Frozen Pizza by IRI-Tracked Sales and Market Share, 2006-2007 (in millions of dollars)
- Table 3-4: Top Marketers of Frozen Hand-Held Non-Breakfast Entrees by IRI-Tracked Sales and Market Share, 2006-2007 (in millions of dollars)
- Table 3-5: Top Marketers of Frozen Multi-Serve Dinners/Entrees by IRI-Tracked Sales and Market Share, 2006-2007 (in millions)
- Table 3-6: Top Marketers of Frozen Appetizers/Snack Rolls by IRI-Tracked Sales and Market Share, 2006-2007 (in millions of dollars)
- Table 3-7: Top Marketers of Frozen Hand-Held Breakfast Entrees by IRI-Tracked Sales and Market Share, 2006-2007 (in millions of dollars)
- Table 3-8: Top Marketers of Frozen Breakfast Meals by IRI-Tracked Sales and Market Share, 2006-2007 (in millions of dollars)
- Table 3-9: Top Marketers of Frozen Pot Pies by IRI-Tracked Sales and Market Share, 2006-2007 (in millions of dollars)
- Table 3-10: Top Marketers of Frozen Prepared Vegetables by IRI-Tracked Sales and Market Share, 2006-2007 (in millions of dollars)
- Marketing and New Product Trends
- Number of Entries Steady Across Most Categories
- Table 3-11: Number of Frozen Convenience Food Product Reports, 2005-2007
- Table 3-12: Number of Frozen Convenience Food Product SKUs, 2005-2007
- Top Marketing Claims: Convenience, Upscale, Natural and Health
- Table 3-13: Number of Frozen Convenience Food Introductions by Package Tag/Claim, 2005-2007
- Stagnito Survey of Manufacturers Documents Key Trends in Prepared Foods
- Restaurant Quality at Home: Panini and More
- Natural and Organic Options Proliferating
- Blue Horizon Debuts "First Organic Skillet Meal"
- Natural Foods for Kids
- Going Green
- Michelina' s Emphasizes Environmentally Responsible Packaging
- Eat Local of Seattle Taps into Locally Grown Food Trend
- Ethnic Flavors Going Further Afield
- Tapping Latino Markets and Flavors
- The Gourmet/Superpremium Thrust
- Riding the Health Wave
- Pizza That' s Good for You
- Better-for-You Breakfasts
- Functional Vegetables
- Package Sizes Tailored to Every Sales Occasion
- Meals for Two
- Stouffer' s Offering Bigger Servings
- Steaming Hot Bowl Meals
- Advertising and Promotion Trends
- Marketers Spend $254 Million on Consumer Advertising
- Advertising Positioning
- Consumer Promotions
- Retail and Internet Trends
- Focus on Supermarkets
- Focus on Supercenters/Mass Merchandisers
- Focus on Warehouse Clubs
- Focus on Convenience Stores
- Focus on Natural Food Stores
- Focus on Vending
- Focus on the Web: E-Commerce
Chapter 4: Competitor Profiles
- Competitor Profile: ConAgra Foods, Inc.
- Corporate Background
- No. 2 in Frozen Convenience Foods
- Banquet a Family-Oriented Mainstay
- ConAgra Recasts Healthy Choice, Again
- Marie Callender' s Positioned as Homestyle, Premium
- Kid Cuisine Offers Winning Combinations
- ConAgra Lax in Frozen Pizza Aisle
- Competitor Profile: H.J. Heinz Co.
- Corporate Background
- Frozen Business Built on Acquisitions
- Goodbye Weight Watchers, Hello Smart Ones
- Boston Market Recovers from Slump
- A Leader in Snacks
- Competitor Profile: Kraft Foods, Inc.
- Corporate Background
- South Beach Diet Widens Reach
- On Top in Frozen Pizza
- Premium DiGiorno Is America' s Leading Frozen Pizza
- Competitor Profile: Nestlé USA, Inc.
- Corporate Background
- No. 1 in Frozen Convenience Foods
- Stouffer' s and Stouffer' s Lean Cuisine
- Corner Bistro Competes with Restaurant Quality
- Hand-Held Is Hot Acquisition
- Competitor Profile: The Schwan Food Company
- Corporate Background
- No. 2 in Frozen Pizza and Moving Forward
- Red Baron the Nation' s Second-Largest Pizza Brand
- Schwan' s Takes Freschetta to a New Level
- Asian Sensations Pan-Asian Foods
Chapter 5: The Consumer
- Demographics
- Note on Simmons Survey Data and Tables
- Frozen Pizza Enjoys Deepest Household Penetration
- Figure 5-1: Household Purchasing Rates for Selected Frozen Food Categories and Brands, 2007 (percent of U.S. households)
- Usage of Most Products Even Across Age Groups
- Marketers Missing Out on Hispanics
- Regional Distribution Shapes Brand Preferences
- Socioeconomic Levels Vary by Product and Brand
- Larger Households Go for Frozen Pizza; Singles for Dinners and Entrees
- Product Preferences by Food/Nutrition Attitudes: Convenience Trumps Health
- Table 5-1: Household Purchasing Rates for Selected Frozen Food Categories and Brands, 2007 (percent of U.S. households)
- Table 5-2: Household Purchasing Indices for Selected Frozen Food Categories and Brands: By Age Bracket of Respondent, 2007 (U.S. households)
- Table 5-3: Household Purchasing Indices for Selected Frozen Food Categories and Brands: By Race/Ethnicity of Respondent, 2007 (U.S. households)
- Table 5-4: Household Purchasing Indices for Selected Frozen Food Categories and Brands: By Marketing Region, 2007 (U.S. households)
- Table 5-5: Household Purchasing Indices for Selected Frozen Food Categories and Brands: By Educational Attainment of Respondent, 2007 (U.S. households)
- Table 5-6: Household Purchasing Indices for Selected Frozen Food Categories and Brands: By Employment Status of Respondent, 2007 (U.S. households)
- Table 5-7: Household Purchasing Indices for Selected Frozen Food Categories and Brands: By Household Income Bracket, 2007 (U.S. households)
- Table 5-8: Household Purchasing Indices for Selected Frozen Food Categories and Brands: By Marital Status of Respondent, 2007 (U.S. households)
- Table 5-9: Household Purchasing Indices for Selected Frozen Food Categories and Brands: By Number of Persons in Household, 2007 (U.S. households)
- Table 5-10: Household Purchasing Indices for Selected Frozen Food Categories and Brands: By Age of Children in Household, 2007 (U.S. households)
- Table 5-11: Household Purchasing Indices for Selected Frozen Food Categories: By Food and Nutrition Attitudes of Respondent, 2007 (U.S. households)
