Worldwide frozen food industry to hit $290B by 2019

THE GLOBAL frozen food market is projected to reach $290 billion by 2019, according to the latest market study from Technavio.

Innovations in product formulations and packaging in line with efforts to keep frozen food fresh will drive market trends, according to the study titled  ‘ Global Frozen Food Market 2015-2019’.  Product innovations aimed at preserving organic and natural frozen food will boost overall consumption of frozen food products during the forecast period.

The report, which provides an in-depth market analysis in terms of revenue and emerging trends, includes up-to-date analysis and forecast for various market segments and all geographical regions.  

Based on available product types, the global frozen food market is segmented into frozen ready meals, frozen meat, frozen fish and seafood, frozen fruits and vegetables, frozen potatoes, and frozen soup.

The ready meals segment is forecast to experience steady growth during the forecast period, according to

Technavio’s senior market research analyst for food and beverages Arushi Thakur.

“Increasing demand for ready meals from children and the aged is augmenting the growth of this segment. Plus, the frozen ready meals segment has a large portfolio, offering consumers a variety of options to choose from,” Mr Thakur said.

The rising popularity of online food delivery will also boost demand for ready meals in the next four years.

Frozen pizza was the most popular ready meal in 2015. Notable brands include Ristorante, DiGiorno, Stouffer's, McCain, Healthy Choice, Weight Watchers, and Banquet.

The frozen fruits and vegetables segment will experience dynamic growth on the back of the year-round availability of different fruits and vegetables. User convenience and the development of innovative freezing technologies will also augment growth in this market.

Changing consumer preferences will significantly influence the frozen vegetables and fruits market. The report forecasts the introduction of innovative and value-added products such as frozen vegetable mixes, ready meals, and vegetables in sauce.

The US is currently the largest market for frozen fruits and vegetables, but the APAC and Latin America are the fastest-growing regions.

Frozen food market vendors can look forward to increasing profitability as they increase their participation in e-commerce business, which accounts for approximately 12 percent of the world’s retail trade. In response to this growing trend, more frozen food retail vendors are switching their emphasis to the internet-savvy customer segments and are venturing into the new retail format, which also helps in reducing operation expenses because the online retail format costs less than the physical store format. This trend is expected to intensify competition for online space among frozen food market vendors.