Frozen Food Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Fruits, Vegetables, Ready Meals), By Region (North America, Europe, APAC, CSA, MEA), And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027

Report Overview

The global frozen food market size was valued at USD 291.3 billion in 2019. Growing importance of Ready-to-Eat (RTE) food products as a result of hectic lifestyles among working-class individuals on a global level are expected to expand the industry size over the next few years. Moreover, increasing spending on shelf-stable foods among consumers is anticipated to expand the market for frozen food in the near future.

Over the past few years, the rising trend of employment across the globe is shifting the consumers’ preferences towards Ready-to-Eat (RTE) food products as it takes less time to cook. Owing to the hectic work style, consumers have comparatively less time for cooking at home which has propelled the demand for frozen products such as frozen potatoes, ready meals, meat, and fish.

According to the ‘World Employment Social Outlook’ by International Labour Organization, in 2019, unemployment rates in high-income countries such as U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada have fallen substantially in the past few years. In addition to this, the world has 3.3 billion working population with the age of 15 and above. This huge working population is gradually shifting towards frozen food products for easy preparation of meals.

The first month of the year 2020, has witnessed a breakdown of Coronavirus (COVID-19) across the world. Almost all the countries in the world have proposed a country level lockdown in which people are restricted to go outside their houses. This panic situation around the globe has propelled the demand for frozen food products owing to their higher shelf life. In addition, it helps the customers to reduce their number of visits to the market places for shopping for frozen food products. These world market trends are anticipated to fuel the market for frozen food in the year 2020.

In the last few months of the year 2020, from January to March, the retail markets including supermarkets/hypermarkets have witnessed a huge shortage of food items owing to the disrupted supply chain. All major countries in the world have locked their international and local state borders in order to prevent the entry of this virus in their countries. This situation has propelled the demand for frozen food capable of retaining the properties of nutritional ingredients for a longer time.

Product Insights

The frozen ready meals segment accounted for more than 30.0% of revenue share in 2019 in the frozen food market. The segment is expected to maintain its dominance over the forecast period on account of pre-dominant consumption of ready meals among working-class people around the globe. Furthermore, the frozen meat segment is expected to remain one of the largest segments on account of new product launches including on the go snack options by Conagra and Nestle. Moreover, easy access of such products in brick and mortar stores on a global level is expected to keep the momentum of the segment over the next few years.  

The potatoes segment is expected to foresee fastest growth at a CAGR of 4.0% from 2020 to 2027 owing to increasing demand for French fries as well as rising application of potatoes in various types of cuisines across the globe. In addition to this, these frozen potatoes are capable to retain all the different types of nutrients and vitamins which are naturally present with a long shelf life. Moreover, they are extremely convenient and flexible in terms of preparation and cooking time.

Regional Insights

Europe was the largest market for frozen food, with a share of more than 35.0% in 2019. The region is severely and largely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the government data, more than 50 thousand people have died due to coronavirus combined in Italy, Germany, France, and Spain till the mid of April 2020. Moreover, the U.K., Belgium, and Netherlands are also severely hit by this pandemic. This has propelled huge demand for frozen food in Europe amid coronavirus breakdown.

Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the fastest growing region with a CAGR of 3.9% from 2020 to 2027 owing to increasing trend of ready-to-eat food among the working-class people as well as college grads of countries such as China and India. China, India, and Japan are the major markets, in terms of consumer spending on food. In addition, significant rise in the demand for frozen food owing to less time for preparation and cooking is opening new avenues in the regional market for frozen food. China was the first country where the coronavirus started to spread across the globe. The country had locked down some of the severely hit provinces for more than two months. After that, many other countries have followed the trend of lockdown to maintain social distancing, the only and the most effective way to control the spread of the virus. These trends are expected to promote the scope of shelf-stable products and thus, in turn, will expand the market for frozen food over the next few years.

Frozen Food Market Share Insights

Some of the manufacturers include Wawona Frozen Foods; Bellisio Foods; McCain Foods; ConAgra Foods, Inc.; General Mills, Inc.; and Nestle S.A. Industry participants have been focusing on ensuring the continuous stock access in the supermarkets and hypermarkets amid the coronavirus breakdown. In March 2020, the CEO of the Kraft Heinz Co. has officially announced that the company is working hard for filling the demand supply gap owning to the seismic changes in the food industry. The company confirmed that frozen food, macaroni, cheese, and vinegar are one of the largest selling products and their demand has been witnessing surge significantly amid coronavirus breakdown.

Major manufacturers are ensuring that the supply of frozen food to the customers is not getting affected by any means. They are adopting various market strategies including collaboration and merger and acquisition with several food delivering companies at country level. Moreover, companies are focusing to strengthen their distribution channels, on account to capture the major market share and more customer penetration across the globe.

Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2016 to 2027. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global frozen food market report on the basis of product and region:

• Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2016 - 2027)

  • Fruits & Vegetables

  • Potatoes

  • Ready Meals

  • Meat

  • Fish/Seafood

  • Soup

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2016 - 2027)

  • North America

    • The U.S.

  • Europe

    • The U.K.

    • Germany

    • France

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

  • Central & South America

  • Middle East & Africa