The Frozen Food market provides consumers with a variety of options to choose from including fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, ready meals and more. Frozen foods have a longer shelf life than fresh foods and allow buyers to stock up on essentials for their pantry. They offer convenience as meals can be cooked quickly without much preparation. 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 from 2023 to 2030.
Key Takeaways
Key players operating in the Frozen Food 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. Nestle, one of the leading players dominate nearly 7% of global frozen food market share. It offers a variety of frozen meals, vegetables, fruits, ready-to-eat meals and more under popular brands.
The rising demand for convenience food is driving the growth of the frozen food market. Changing lifestyles and busy schedules leave little time for preparing fresh meals at home on a daily basis. Hence, frozen meals that can be cooked and consumed quickly have become popular. Furthermore, increasing number of working women is also propelling the demand for frozen foods.
Global expansion through mergers and acquisitions is a key trend observed in the frozen food market. Major players are expanding their international presence to complement their domestic business. For instance, Nestle acquired General Mills' gluten-free brand in 2019 to boost its product portfolio in the growing gluten-free segment. Similarly, Tyson Foods acquired Keystone Foods, a private label meat producer, to expand into private label sides and value-added meat businesses.
Market Key Trends
increased focus on product innovation and introduction of healthy options is a major trend in the frozen food market. With rising health and wellness trend, consumers demand frozen meals with fewer/no preservatives, less fat/sodium and whole grain/plant-based ingredients. To cater to this, companies are investing in new product development focusing on health, nutrition and sustainability.
Porter’s Analysis
Threat of new entrants: New players find it difficult to enter this market due to high investment required for processing, packaging and distribution facilities.
Bargaining power of buyers: Buyers have moderate bargaining power due to wide availability of substitute products.
Bargaining power of suppliers: A few large multinational corporations control the supply of raw materials giving them higher bargaining power.
Threat of new substitutes: Substitute products like canned, fresh and dried foods pose threat to the frozen foods.
Competitive rivalry: Intense competition exists among existing players to gain market share.
Geographical Regions
North America accounts for the largest share of the global frozen food market in terms of value. This is attributed to factors such as increasing prevalence of nuclear families and dual-income households coupled with busy lifestyles that require convenient food options.
The Asia Pacific region is expected to witness the fastest growth in the frozen food market during the forecast period. Improving economic conditions, rising penetration of modern retail formats, growing middle-class population and changing eating habits of consumers are driving the market growth in emerging countries of Asia Pacific.