In a challenging year where uncertainty ruled, as Brexit negotiations continued and economic pressures remain, the retail frozen food sector has continued to perform exceptionally well, maintaining impressive growth of 5% year-on-year and finishing on a high, with retail sales hitting the £6bn milestone for the first time ever in 2017. This is the statement made by John Hyman, chief executive of the British Frozen Food Federation.
“In the last twelve months, members of the frozen food industry have come together, creating innovative and powerful campaigns that have continued to change consumer perceptions around the benefits of frozen food, meaning the case for frozen food is no longer in dispute. These tactics have contributed to an incredibly successful year for the industry, with specific success stories coming from the frozen fish and frozen confectionery categories,” Hyman said.
“Both categories have out-performed the sector considerably in growth, with frozen confectionery holding 21.5% market share, an increase of 7.7%, showing that even when health continues to be high on the agenda, the innovation and high quality products available are driving consumers straight to the frozen dessert cabinets when they choose to indulge. Similarly, frozen fish takes a market share of 13.6%, up 6.9% due to this focus in innovation as frozen food manufacturers continue to take leading steps in development and premiumization to offer customers high quality, on-trend products that can easily be prepared at home,” he added.
A complete version of this analysis will be available in our next print issue.