Despite the events that began a little more than a year ago, the market for frozen snacks and appetizers seems to be growing even faster than the overall frozen food market, which has been seen as one of the few categories that have thrived during the pandemic. An ever-expanding range of products seems to be one of the main reasons for this evolution, supported by innovation and close attention to the needs of the consumers.
The frozen snack food market is expected to grow by USD11.30 billion, progressing at a CAGR of over 6% until 2024, at the end of the forecast period. The data comes from Technavio, which recently released its Frozen Snacks Market – Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2020 – 2024) report. According to the study, the rise in the launch of products is one of the major factors propelling market growth. However, factors such as frequent product recalls will hamper the market growth. Vendors are increasingly launching products in the frozen meat snacks segment, and these launches have a positive impact on the global market. Vendors operating in the global frozen snack food market are concentrating on introducing highly nutritious frozen snacks. Regionally, APAC will offer several growth opportunities to market vendors during the forecast period, as the increasing consumer demand for frozen snacks and the expansion of the distribution capability of vendors will significantly drive the frozen snack food market. 35% of the market’s growth will originate from APAC during the forecast period, with China and Japan as the key markets.
Innovation is key in the category
The market for deep-frozen finger food and snacks is growing rapidly, according to Frédéric Dervieux, CEO of the Frostkrone Food Group. Last year, too, the demand for snacks between meals was still very big and this trend will continue, he points out. “The market is driven by innovation with consumers incredibly open to new ideas and keen to try lots more – in terms of choice, tastes, and the way food is prepared. We are keen to fulfill the wishes of our clients in the trade and the needs of those in the foodservice sector. And as their partner, we aim to support them all with a stream of new ideas on finger food and snacks. And it is especially the free-from products that are riding high. Here there is huge growth potential. There is now such a varied choice – both in the trade and also in the foodservice sector.”
Under the umbrella of Crunchy Homies, Frostkrone Food Group has brought together its popular snack range that stood on the shelves of freezer cabinets for years. With the advancement of new technologies and thanks to an improved recipe, the products of this range come out of the oven even crispier than ever before. “The Crunchy Homies range is made up of popular finger food and snacks that are much loved by the consumer – indeed these are our bestsellers. And all the variations with their extra crispy coating are on sale in shop freezers. In the case of these products, we are running with a new crispy coating, the production of which is made possible by a new and different state-of-the-art technology. The result is that the finger food variations come out of everyone’s oven at home super crunchy. And the quick and easy preparation remains, of course, as quick and easy as it has always been.” This year, the Crunchy Homie Collection will be steadily extended so that consumers can enjoy even more bestsellers perfected in this new kind of crispy coating. The range currently features the following products: Crunchy Cream Cheese Paprinos, which are red cherry peppers filled with the creamiest of cream cheese and accompanied by a spicy, aromatic red pepper dip; Crunchy Mozzarella Sticks, which are tasty sticks filled with melt-in-the-mouth mozzarella and enhanced with an aromatic and spicy red pepper dip; Crunchy Cream Cheese Jalapeños, Mexican jalapeños filled with truly creamy cream cheese and fine-tuned with an aromatic and spicy red pepper dip; and Crunchy Chilli Cheese Nuggets, which boasts a creamy composition of soft cheese with fiery chilies in the batter.
Froskrone’s latest innovation just launched on the market is Favorizza: the new pizza snack collection, which is available in so many different variations. “This collection superbly reflects our aspirations of creating new and exciting finger food and snack variations for the consumer, products that are, at the same time, simple, straightforward, and fuss-free. The selection here is huge so that variations for every occasion and every taste are on offers, such as breakfast snacks, hearty delights with lots of cheese, vegan variations, and sweet bites.” Among the products are „Early Bird” Buns such as Bacon Omelette, which are small yeast dough bun loaded with scrambled egg, cheese, and belly bacon, perfected with parsley and sprinkled with Gouda cheese; “V-Style” Buns, which include Hummus & Olive, or small yeast dough bun filled with hummus, olives, and parsley; Sweet Bites such as Copenhagen-Style, which are sweet yeast dough filled with persipan and sultanas. “And one thing everyone is also still talking about is the «Green Date» range. Our free-from range, which is purely plant-based and gluten-free and which has no additives, no flavor enhancers, and no preservatives. Not only are all Green Date snacks bursting with vegetables but they are also incredibly crunchy. And that’s all down to the tiger nut, which forms their basis,” Frédéric Dervieux adds.
These deep-frozen products are available in six flavors and various styles, e.g. coins, croquettes, balls, and burgers. They are available with a coating or naked. One example is is The Curry Kiss, a fresh and fruity Indian-style snack made of nutritious edamame beans in a composition of mango and tiger nuts and perfected with apples, carrots, coconut flakes, and onions. The variations are available as burgers or coins.
The read the entire article, please access your complimentary e-copy of the Frozen Food Dossier, Spring 2021 issue here.