Open the freezer, and you will find a range of quick and easy options in colourful packs frosted over with ice.
The British Frozen Food Federation has been active in its promotion of frozen food over the last couple of years and has successfully brought home the message that not only is frozen food often packed with up to 30 per cent more vitamins, it is also tasty and eco-friendly, resulting in less waste.
But despite this high profile media campaign, the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel show that the frozen vegetable sector is gradually losing shoppers. However, it’s not all bad news, with the sector increasing its market share thanks to rising prices, ensuring that shoppers are spending more per trip.
“Chips and sweetcorn are the strongest performers,” says Gabriela Varey, spokeswoman for Kantar Worldpanel. “However, frozen herbs are enjoying the strongest value growth at an increase of 43 per cent, but this is from a small base of 0.3 per cent of total frozen veg.”
Now worth £977 million, the total frozen vegetable market has increased by 1.4 per cent in value and 0.9 per cent in volume in the 52 weeks leading up to 12 June.
“Although the sector is slowly losing shoppers, the average price is gradually increasing,” adds Varey. “Shoppers are spending more per trip as trip spend increases by 1.3 per cent to an average of £1.97.”
Sainsbury’s category buyer for frozen vegetables Alison Atkin maintains that frozen vegetables are an important core category for frozen foods. “The category is driven by peas, which account for approximately 50 per cent of sales,” she says.
There’s no denying that frozen peas are big business for the UK. This country is the largest producer of frozen peas in Europe, producing as much as the next two biggest producers - France and Belgium - combined. In fact, the US is the only country in the world that produces more than the UK, according to the Processed Vegetable Growers’ Association (PVGA).
“This is a reflection of the ideal growing conditions we have for high quality pea production and the demand for sweet young tender peas in our marketplace, where our per capita consumption is probably higher than any other major country,” says PVGA chief executive Martin Riggall. “Nevertheless, production and consumption have gradually declined from the peak reached in the 1970s.”
The slip is due, in part, to a change in eating habits. During the last 30 years, the trend has geared towards fewer mealtimes where the whole family sits down together, an increase in eating out and a move towards an international diet.
But the decline is being addressed. According to a spokesperson at Birds Eye, there has been a 5.5 per cent increase since 2007 in meals being eaten with the entire household present, creating a demand for products that provide constant quality for the whole family.
The Yes Peas! promotional campaign, organised by PVGA and supported by most of the growers and major processors, has also played a major part in halting the decline and reintroducing some growth in consumption.
“We have achieved this by stimulating food writers with an amazing collection of recipes, which put peas at the heart of the recipe, whatever the cuisine - Indian, Italian, Chinese, Thai, Spanish or Mexican,” adds Riggall.
With the UK producing the most frozen peas in Europe, it’s essential that UK supermarkets support home-grown produce. Sainsbury’s is one of many supermarkets that buys British-sourced vegetables where possible.
“All our peas are British,” says Atkin. “We source approximately 60 per cent of our frozen vegetable range from Britain. However, as some commodities are not available frozen in the UK, we do also source from other European countries.”
A key focus for producers of frozen vegetables is the freshly frozen message. This is ensuring that Sainsbury’s share of the sector is growing ahead of the market, particularly with its own label brand. “Own label dominates the retail sector in frozen vegetables, representing approximately 70 per cent of sales,” says Atkin. “However, Birds Eye is the largest brand behind own label.”
Birds Eye has certainly been taking advantage of its popularity with the consumer and is developing in other areas as well as peas. Over the last few months, it has launched its Field Fresh range of frozen vegetables and herbs, which claim to have 30 per cent more vitamins sealed in than fresh vegetables. According to Atkin, Sainsbury’s has benefitted from being the first to sell the Birds Eye Field Fresh and frozen herbs range.
Meanwhile, a number of other innovations are pushing sales in the frozen sector. Birds Eye is introducing new products to its popular Field Fresh portfolio this summer. Tapping into the changing needs of the consumer, the latest range will see the addition of two new family-sized Field Fresh Steamers, a packaging revamp for 700g Petits Pois and the addition of broccoli florets to the Field Fresh range.
The two new Family Steamers will feature new Steamer Seal technology, which steams the vegetables in the microwave to retain more vitamins. Family Steamers will also carry the Field Fresh “picked and frozen within hours” guarantee, ensuring maximum vitamin retention and the best possible taste.
Ensuring that products last longer and are easy to store are advantages that the frozen sector is capitalising on. Birds Eye has responded to this in the last six months by launching its resealable zip lock packs for its 1.52kg Field Fresh Garden Peas and 1.2kg Field Fresh Petits Pois. A cutting edge technology for the frozen aisle, the new zip lock is set to cause a stir in store.
Brand manager Matt Blackmore says: “Resealable packaging seems like an obvious and straightforward idea for the frozen category, but following a significant investment in development, arriving at an affordable and effective solution is a genuine innovation. We’ve all had those moments at home where you open the freezer to find a flood of peas have escaped the bag and we are extremely delighted to have found a feasible, convenient fix for our consumers.”
And McCain Foods is attempting to fill a gap in the market for older children with its launch of its potato fingers. Alan Castle, head of customer marketing at McCain Foods, says: “The launch of potato fingers ensures that there are McCain products that will appeal to all age groups. While established kids products, such as McCain Smiles, are much loved, we’ve found that as some children grow older they are keen to explore a wider variety of textures and tastes but aren’t necessarily ready for products like wedges. Potato fingers provide mums with a wholesome product to satisfy that after school demand.”
So with all this activity pushing new developments in the frozen vegetable sector, it doesn’t look like it’s popularity is likely to end soon. While some consumers will always prefer to buy fresh, bringing home the message that frozen can even be more healthy, tasty and eco-friendly will only serve to increase sales - which can only be good news for frozen vegetable producers.
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