by Frozen Food Market is Estimated to Witness High Growth Owing to Technological Advancements in Cold Chain Logistics and Food Storage
The global frozen food market is seeing significant growth owing to advancing cold chain logistics and food storage technologies. Frozen foods such as frozen pizza, frozen ready meals, frozen seafood, frozen meat and poultry are highly convenient options for busy consumers with irregular working schedules. Frozen foods offer advantages like longer shelf life and availability of off-season products throughout the year. The growing demand for convenience foods and increasing female workforce participation is fueling the demand for frozen foods globally. The Global frozen food market is estimated to be valued at US$ 167116.37 Mn in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.8% over the forecast period 2023 to 2030.
Key Takeaways
Key players operating in the frozen food market are Nestle S.A., Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Kraft Foods Group, Inc., ConAgra Foods, Inc., General Mills, Inc., H.J. Heinz Company, Tyson Foods, Inc., Unilever Plc., Maple Leaf Foods, Inc., and Pinnacle Foods, Inc. These players are focusing on new product launches, mergers & acquisitions and expansion of production facilities to strengthen their presence in the market.
The frozen food market provides significant opportunities for players across the value chain to cater to the growing demand from working professionals, students and households. Rising disposable incomes and urbanization in developing countries are expected to drive the frozen food consumption in future.
Technological advancements in food freezing, cold storage technologies and automated food processing are helping enhance food safety and quality. Developments in modified atmosphere packaging and active packaging are helping extend the shelf life of frozen foods. Automatic food sorting systems and food safety inspection technologies ensure high quality standards.
Market Drivers
Changing lifestyles and rapid urbanization: Growth in the number of nuclear families, dual income households and increasing number of women in workforce is driving the demand for convenient and ready-to-eat foods like frozen meals and snacks. Rapid urbanization in developing markets is another factor fueling the demand.
Advancements in supply chain infrastructure: Improving cold chain logistics network, cold storage facilities at manufacturing, distribution and retail points are helping ensure frozen foods maintain quality and safety during transportation and storage. This has boosted customer and retailer confidence in frozen products.
Increased product innovation: Players are constantly innovating and launching new product varieties, flavors and value-added frozen food products catering to health, diet consciousness and other needs of target customer groups to attract more consumers.
Current challenges in Frozen Food Market:
One of the major challenges faced by frozen food manufacturers is high dependence on raw material imports. Volatile prices of raw materials including meat, vegetables, fruits affect the profitability of frozen food companies. Logistics and supply chain disruptions triggered due to Covid-19 pandemic impacted the availability of raw materials and increased procurement costs. Shelf life of frozen foods is another challenge. Frozen foods need to be stored and transported at lower temperatures resulting in higher energy costs. Maintaining cold chain from production to consumption increases operational expenses.
Aging infrastructure and lack of sufficient cold storage facilities in many developing regions pose challenges in expanding distribution reach of frozen foods. Changing consumer preferences towards fresh and less processed foods is compelling frozen food brands to adapt new formulations and production techniques. Growing health-consciousness necessitates removing artificial preservatives and reducing sodium/sugar content without compromising taste.
SWOT Analysis
Strength: Wide availability of frozen food products catering to diverse cuisines and meal solutions help save cooking time. Freezing process helps retain essential vitamins and retain freshness for longer duration.
Weakness: Perception of frozen foods being low quality compared to fresh alternatives. Dependency on electricity to maintain cold chain results in high operating costs.
Opportunity: Rising nuclear families, working women population increases demand for convenient ready-to-eat meals. Innovation in packaging materials helps improve shelf life and reduces food wastage.
Threats: Strict food safety and quality regulations increase compliance costs. substitutes. Vulnerability to changes in climatic conditions affects availability of raw materials.
Geographical regions:
North America currently accounts for the largest share in global frozen food industry in terms of value sales. Major frozen food consuming countries including United States and Canada have well-established cold chain infrastructure and organized retail sector increasing shelf space for frozen products. Europe is the second largest regional market led by countries like United Kingdom, Germany, France enjoying high frozen food penetration.
The Asia Pacific region is poised to be the fastest growing market during the forecast period. Countries like China, India offer vast untapped market opportunities attributed to changing lifestyles, rising incomes and growing urbanization. Australia is also a prominent frozen food market in the region. Improving cold chain facilities, retail infrastructure in developing Asian nations are supporting increased frozen food adoption.
*Note:
1.Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2.We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
