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Eating Habits: Improving the Appeal of Convenience Options - UK

Published by: Mintel International Group Ltd.

Published: May. 1, 2007 - 79 Pages


Table of Contents


Issues in the Market


Definition

Consumer research

Abbreviations



Market in Brief

Continued growth despite greater health awareness

Chilled, ‘healthier’ products behind good performance

Penetration of ready meals increases, but many others fall

Own-label dominance

Who uses?

Further potential



Internal Market Environment

Key points

A nation hooked on convenience?

Many economic and social factors drive growth

Health trend creates criticism

Eating out is consistently popular - potential for restaurant-quality meals

Figure 1: Trends in eating out, 2003-06

Ownership of household appliances affects demand for convenience foods

Figure 2: Ownership of microwave ovens, freezers and combined fridge/freezers, by country, 2006

Figure 3: Trends in ownership of microwave ovens, freezers and combined fridge/freezers in GB, 2001-06

Figure 4: Ownership of microwave ovens, freezers and combined fridge/freezers, by demographic sub-group, 2006

More time at work means less time for cooking

Figure 5: Trends in average hours spent on working day on professional occupation (main job or other paid activities), 2002-06

Figure 6: Trends in average hours spent on working day on professional occupation (main job or other paid activities), by country, 2006

Figure 7: Trends in average hours dedicated to daily amusemements, recreation, personal relationships (hobbies and sports, not television), 2002-06

Is eating in the new eating out?

Impact of celebrity chefs on cooking habits

Home cooking not just for older adults

Shrinking share of household budget spent on food

Figure 8: UK household expenditure, at current prices, 2001-06

Figure 9: UK household expenditure on food and non-alcoholic drink, at current and constant prices, 2001-06

Snacking on-the-go more common

Figure 10: Estimated number of adult on-the-go snacking occasions, 2006



Broader Market Environment

Key points

Ageing population poses a challenge to convenience suppliers

Figure 11: Trends in UK population, by age, 2001-11

More affluent consumers tend to choose healthier options

Figure 12: UK adult population, by socio-economic group, 2001-11

Growing female employment and consumer wealth are good news

Figure 13: UK workforce, by gender and employment status, 2001-11

Figure 14: Trends in UK PDI, consumer expenditure and GDP, at current prices, 2001-11

Family households still most likely to use convenience foods

Figure 15: Trends in number of UK households, 2000-10



Who’s Innovating?

Key points

Healthier ready meals

Going premium

Restaurant-quality pizza at home

Create your own - introducing cooking skills to children

Demand for naturalness in cooking sauces

Gourmet offering

Low-fat and low-calorie feature strongly in soup launches

France and the UK have the biggest number of new launches

Figure 16: New product launches, by country, April 2006-March 2007

Ready meals see the most NPD activity

Figure 17: UK new product launches, by sector, 2002-06*

Microwaveable is the principal convenience benefit, quality and health also being addressed

Figure 18: Principal product claims in UK convenience food launches, April-2006-March 2007



Market Size and Forecast - Convenience Foods

Key points

Continued growth, and room for further rises

Figure 19: UK retail value sales of selected convenience foods, in sterling terms, 2002-06

Figure 20: UK retail value sales of selected convenience foods, in euro terms, 2002-06

Consumers no longer prepared to pay more just to save time

Suppliers help consumers eat more healthily

Forecast

Figure 21: Forecast of UK retail value sales of selected convenience foods, at current prices in sterling terms, 2006-11

Figure 22: Forecast of UK retail value sales of selected convenience foods, at 2006 prices in sterling terms, 2006-11

Forecast in €uros

Figure 23: Forecast of UK retail value sales of selected convenience foods, at current prices in euro terms, 2006-11

Figure 24: Forecast of UK retail value sales of selected convenience foods, at 2006 prices in euro terms, 2006-11

Factors used in the forecast

Prospects



Segment Performance

Key points

Figure 25: Growth/decline in retail value sales, by sector, 2004-06

Ready meals

Chilled products still increasing share

Figure 26: UK retail value sales of ready meals, by type, 2004-06

Pizza

Frozen sector fast losing sales to chilled

Figure 27: UK retail value sales of pizza, by type, 2004-06

Cooking sauces

Figure 28: UK retail value sales of cooking sauces, by type, 2004-06

Soup

Figure 29: UK retail value sales of soup, by type, 2004-06



Market Share

Key points

Retailers’ own-labels dominate

Figure 30: UK retail value sales of selected convenience foods, own-labels vs brands, 2006

Ready meals

Figure 31: Manufacturers’ retail value shares of frozen ready meals, 2004-06

Figure 32: Manufacturers’ retail value shares of chilled ready meals, 2004-06

Pizza

Figure 33: Manufacturers’ retail value shares of pizza, 2004-06

Cooking sauces

Figure 34: Manufacturers’ retail value shares of ambient wet cooking sauces, 2004-06

Soup

Figure 35: Manufacturers’ retail value shares of soup, 2004-06



Companies and Products

HJ Heinz

Premier Foods

Unilever Bestfoods

Marks & Spencer

Sainsbury’s

Tesco

Channels to Market

Key points

Dominance of large multiple grocery chains



The Consumer - Pan-European Overview

Key points

Soup is the most widely used convenience food

Figure 36: Use of selected convenience foods, by country, 2006

Figure 37: Household expenditure on selected primary foods, by country, 2006

Frozen vegetables are most frequently used; pasta is used just as often as ready meals

Figure 38: Household use of selected convenience food products, by frequency, by country, 2006

Figure 39: Level of spend on selected primary foods, by country, 2006

More potential for frozen poultry products?

What is in the European shopping basket?

Figure 40: The top three most frequently purchased convenience foods*, by country, 2006

Figure 41: The top three food products, by expenditure*, by country, 2006



The Consumer - Use of Convenience Foods in GB

Key points

Trends in frequency of using convenience foods - soups, sauces and instant desserts fare worst

Figure 42: Trends in penetration and frequency of using selected convenience foods, 2002-06

Figure 43: Growth/decline in consumer base, convenience foods by product, 2002-06

Fresh fish strongly gains new users

Figure 44: Trends in expenditure on selected food products, 2002-06

Figure 45: Growth/decline in consumer base, fresh and frozen foods by product, 2002-06



The Consumer - Attitudes Towards Convenience and Quality

Key points

Britons are good targets for convenience foods that leave room for some recipe input

Figure 46: Attitudes towards cooking and meal occasions, by country, 2006

Premium ranges offer guilt-free convenience

Figure 47: Attitudes towards food quality, by country, 2006

Challenging the perception that frozen foods are poor quality

Lower appreciation of gourmet foods in GB

Figure 48: Food attitude index, by country, 2006

Trends in attitudes in GB are favourable for home cooking

Figure 49: Trends in attitudes towards cooking and meal occasions, 2002-06

Figure 50: Trends in attitudes towards food quality, 2002-06

Abstract

There has undoubtedly been a resurgence of home cooking, driven no doubt by the high media profile of cooking in general and celebrity chefs in particular. Whilst Mintel's consumer research suggests the extent of this trend should not be exaggerated, it is leading to the development of quality convenience foods which allow consumers to make a contribution to the finished meal - M&S's Cook! range is a good example of this.



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