May/June 2022 - 8

CONSUMER TRENDS
FROZEN FOODS
" As shoppers continue the purchase
of frozen food post-pandemic and
integrate frozen into their meals, they
are still drawn to the variety and appeal
of easy-to-prepare food while eating at
home, " Bodor said.
February 2022 retail sales from
analytics firm IRI showed that the
Prepared Vegetables category continues
to see strong growth as shoppers turn
to frozen, Bodor said. Like NFRA,
she attributes some of this growth
to consumers who are seeking out
healthier options.
" Frozen food consumers are looking
for 'better-for-you' foods and have
many ways in which they define
'healthy' in frozen foods, ranging from
product type to nutrients they look for
or avoid, " said Bodor.
Consumers who focus on health
are interested in " real " ingredients,
she said, adding that
a preference for fresh frozen and
they show
products that don't have artificial
colors.
Another factor driving growth is
continued advancement of e-commerce
food shopping. Bodor said that while
many consumers have returned to
grocery stores to shop in person,
frozen food shoppers still enjoy grocery
shopping online. Frozen foods have
very high online conversion, she said,
adding that 82% of shoppers who bought
groceries online included frozen foods
in their online baskets as well. Bodor
expects this trend to continue, especially
as manufacturers explore more directto-consumer
options to meet demands.
Currently, there's another factor
driving growth in the frozen category:
inflation. As food prices increase, the
frozen category is expected to follow
suit. But as food prices rise, Bodor
expects the food service sector to be
hardest hit. Consumers, she said, will
likely return to making food at home to
cut costs. Here, again, is an opportunity
for growth.
" We can expect consumers to turn
to frozen foods and eating at home to
moderate costs, yet still enjoy variety
and those foods that most consumers
don't typically prepare for themselves,
such as enchiladas, lasagnas and Asian
dumplings, " she concluded.
Bodor's predictions are in line with
those of NFRA, which also pointed to
exotic flavors and international cuisine
as key drivers for the frozen category.
A recent Deloitte study revealed one
last driver of growth from today's frozen
food consumer. While many have turned
to the frozen category for creative,
convenient, single-serving options,
others are drawn to the longer shelf
life of frozen food products, especially
as a means to reduce food waste.
Specifically, the study noted that 57%
of shoppers are purchasing more frozen
food, 58% are purchasing different
kinds of frozen foods, and 57% are
purchasing different brands than they
did pre-pandemic. But perhaps the most
important take-home message is that
like the studies conducted by NFRA,
ARI and AFFI, Deloitte's study reveals
that growth in the frozen category is
here to stay.
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May/June 2022

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