The mature markets in Western Europe currently bet on vegetarian and vegan alternatives in frozen foodstuffs, as main drivers for growth, according to Euromonitor International. The insights were presented this week during the 5th annual Wabel Frozen Summit in Paris, the event dedicated to private label producers and buyers.
Other growth opportunities include organic and natural products and ingredients, but also authenticity, provenance and transparency, especially for products seeking a premium positioning.
“There is a growing number of private label ranges which focus on organic variants, including among discounters and recent launches include ranges of Coop and Lidl in Italy. Also noticeable are the gluten-free ready meals and meat substitutes, which are dominated by local players. There is a clear growth potential for meat producers who can come up with vegetarian products,” said Raphael Moreau, analyst with Euromonitor in his presentation.
This year’s edition of Wabel Frozen Summit saw a large number of private business meetings between buyers and suppliers of frozen foods, and also informative presentations from renowned market research companies, on the topic of PL frozen brands. The 5th Frozen Summit also awarded product innovation and design in several categories, including vegan/vegetarian, fish, bakery and pastry, meat, finger food. The winners included companies such as Ijshoeve De Boey, Van Geloven, Nature’s Touch and Seafodia.
Don’t miss the next print issue of Frozen Food Europe, for an exclusive interview with Antoine Bonnel, co-founder of Wabel.
