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FROZEN
CATEGORY INSIGHT: BRITISH FROZEN FOOD FEDERATION / BIRDS EYE
FROZEN CONTINUES SOLID GROWTH
THE OFTEN OVERLOOKED FROZEN CATEGORY CONTINUED ITS SUSTAINED PERIOD OF GROWTH WITH A STRONG FINISH TO 2020, OUTSTRIPPING EVERY OTHER CATEGORY APART FROM ALCOHOL.
Frozen is a category that doesn’t often get much attention in local retailing, which is surprising given that it’s a category that has been in solid growth in recent years. Unsexy as it is, frozen has quietly grown in both volume and value as an increasing number of shoppers realise the benefits that frozen food has to offer, not least of which is zero food waste – something that has become more important to shoppers during the pandemic.
Indeed, the category added another £252m in sales in the last three-month period, according to the latest Kantar figures released by the British Frozen Food Federation. So, is it a category that local retailers should be focusing more attention on? The latest lockdown indicates that the virus is far from beaten and the shopping trends learned over the last year may well persist long into the future.
The research reveals that the frozen food aisle has been the star performer of grocery retail in the last 12 months, performing better in terms of value and volume percentage growth than any other category apart from alcohol.
The latest figures for the 12 months to 29 November show that the overall grocery market grew 11.3% in value and 9.0% in volume over the 52-week period. Frozen food sales outperformed total grocery growth in both value (+13.8%) and volume (+11.5%), adding £871m in sales.
The figures reveal that of the nine frozen categories reported by Kantar all are in value growth, with six in double digit growth. It is a similar picture in volume with eight categories in growth, of which five are in double digit growth. Average price has also increased by 2.0%, slightly behind the 2.1% for total grocery, whereas the average price of fresh and chilled has declined by 0.8%.
Tesco remains the leading frozen food retailer with 23% of sales by value, slightly down year-onyear, but almost double that of the second largest retailer of frozen food Asda with 12.5%. Waitrose, M&S and Ocado all saw a small increase in their share of frozen sales in the last 12 months. Iceland showed a slight decline in share but still recorded significant value growth along with all retailers.
Commenting on the figures, Richard Harrow, BFFF Chief Executive said: “In grocery retail frozen food has had a fantastic year with many consumers increasing their frozen food purchasing or indeed finding the frozen aisle for the first time. During December many retailers were reporting demand remained high especially for frozen turkey crowns and seasonal products, with shoppers emptying freezers as quickly as they could be stocked.
“Whilst this year’s performance has been driven by the changing shopping habits due to the pandemic and the return to the big weekly shop, many consumers have been converted to buying more frozen products by the long shelf-life, reduced food waste, value for money and variety of food on offer.”
He added: “Sadly, out-of-home has been decimated by the pandemic. Sales of frozen food are forecast to drop to £1.4bn for the year.” Harrow said this figure could drop further in the wake of tighter lockdown restrictions.
Even before this impact the total frozen food market, retail and foodservice, will have declined by £187m, or a 2.1% during 2020.
Harrow concluded: “I hope 2021 will see the return of a more balanced market and a substantial recovery in out of home sales. At the same time, I’m confident that retail sales will remain strong and that shoppers renewed enthusiasm for frozen food will continue.”
BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF CONVENIENCE
FROZEN FASTSTATS:
74% of local retailers have seen demand for frozen food grow this year
42% say frozen grew more than any other category
Over a third have expanded their freezer space to meet this demand
Only 40% regularly include frozen food in their product orders
Frozen ready meals and savoury meal accompaniments have seen the biggest increases with retailers
Pizza and ice cream remain the most popular overall
Through a dedicated survey of 200 independent UKretailers, the findings highlight how the demand for frozenfood has expanded since the lockdown in March, with 42% ofrespondents citing how the frozen category grew at a greaterrate compared to other product categories. Nearly threequarters of participants have seen demand for frozen growoverall, at least in line with other categories.
The growth of frozen food seen by independentretailers mirrors the nationwide picture at a grocery leveland reinforces the attractive proposition that frozen foodoffers, especially with ready meals and savoury mealaccompaniments, which saw the biggest demand surgeaccording to retailers.
The research demonstrates that frozen has great appeal toshoppers due to its convenience and variety. Almost one-fifth(19%) of retailers plan to invest more in the frozen categoryover the coming months and over one-third increased theirfreezer space in store during 2020.
Chris West, Channel Controller at Birds Eye commented:“On the back of these findings, Birds Eye remains committedto working with independent retailers in order to help expandtheir frozen food offering and better meet changing shopperdemands.”
