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THERE'S no doubt that interest in food is at an all-time high, notes Leatherhead Food Research. "Food seems to be everywhere we look at the moment and hundreds of column inches and hours' worth of television programming are devoted to the topic of eating," the research organisation said in its annual Food & Drinks trend report. Interest, however, doesn't necessarily translate into action.
Convenience food is and will continue to be a growing market, as it's evident that consumers aren't slowing down to chop tomatoes or grill zucchinis. "The fact is that whilst we're engaging with food more than ever, our busy chaotic lifestyles simply will not allow elaborate home-cooked meals during the workweek," said Leatherhead senior market analyst Laura Kempster.
New 'ready meal' concepts in the form of meal kits and premium offerings ensure that choice and quality of prepared meals are like never before, Leatherhead observes. In part, the quality of these high-value ready meals rests on the type of packaging and processing technologies involved.
A better way to offer chilled ready meals
People are becoming increasingly aware of what they eat, but have less time to cook properly. On the one hand, there is a growing demand for convenience food, and on the other, consumers want their meals to be nutritious. One developer for in-pack microwave cooking and pasteurisation - MicVac AB from Sweden - claims that the technique offers chilled, ready meals that are both healthy and tasty. These benefits include:
Long shelf life without additives. A meal produced stays fresh for approx. 30 days in 8°C - without additives. The extended shelf life enables longer production cycles and in the end a more cost efficient production. It also reduces store waste without reducing range availability. In other words, there is an opportunity to offer fresh food with better margins and fewer logistic challenges.
Easy to transport, easy to display. The vacuum allows the trays to be stored upright. This is an advantage all the way through the space efficient transportation to the eye catching in-store display.
So easy, even a child can cook a decent meal. For the consumer, there is easy handling as you just have to put the packaged meal in the microwave oven, don't pierce the film and the valve makes a whistling sound when it reaches eating temperature. The specially- designed Flextray ensures that the food is hot all the way through.
