As the growth experienced last year was way above average, most expected that 2021 would bring a more moderate increase in frozen sales. That doesn’t seem to be the case, according to the American Frozen Food Institute’s (AFFI) “The State of Frozen Food Sales: A Mid-Year Snapshot” report.
30% of Americans expanded their freezer capacity by adding a second fridge/freezer combination or a stand-alone freezer since the onset of the pandemic; not wanting to let their investment go to waste, consumers continue to highly engage with the frozen food aisles, the report shows. Over the last 52 weeks ending late May 2021, frozen food sales are still up 9.2% versus the same period a year ago (IRI, MULO, 52 weeks ending May 30, 2021). This is 4% higher than the 5.8% increase in sales seen for all foods and beverages.
“Additionally, in May of 2021, frozen foods were still 22.6% over and above their 2019 pre-pandemic baseline. This is still much higher than the 14.8% increase in sales for total food and beverages. Across all 2021 months to date, frozen food gains have consistently been above 20% versus 2019, with matching unit and volume gains,” according to the study.