Review of the UK marketplace for convenience foods

Citation

Llewellyn Davies, D. (2001), "Review of the UK marketplace for convenience foods", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 31 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2001.01731faf.002

Review of the UK marketplace for convenience foods

Review of the UK marketplace for convenience foods

In the UK, consumers today are even more pressed for time, purchasing more convenience products and are spending less time than ever in the kitchen preparing meals. Food manufacturers are having to address the requirements of this fast moving, time starved generation by producing both branded and own label products that suit the changing lifestyle of the modern family.

This lack of time is especially felt by working mothers and wives who still assume the bulk of domestic responsibility. In the UK we have one of the highest levels of working women, accounting for over 46 per cent of the labour force who are prime targets for convenience products (Feedback, 1999). The average home cooked meal is estimated to take about 30 minutes to prepare, a figure that has dropped by 30 per cent over the last decade and it is set to drop even further over the next decade (The Grocer, 1999a). It seems that food cannot be on the table quickly enough and cooking times are emblazoned on the pack. The "meals made easy range" from Asda had a little clock on the packaging indicating how long the product took to cook and Tesco's produced a range of frozen ethnic dishes that could be ready in ten minutes, from digging it out of the freezer. In the ambient sector, Sharwoods have also displayed the time taken to produce the meal with their latest range of cooking sauces. For example, their "sweet and sour" sauce when used with vegetables was ready in only ten minutes.

The changes in lifestyle of the whole family have had an impact on the development and the growth in demand for convenience and semi-prepared products. For example:

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  There has been an increasing importance in how we spend our leisure time which has left little time for preparing food.

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  Today, fewer families eat together as they have flexible working patterns, longer working hours and different food preferences.

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  Children are leading ever more complicated lives with an increase in the number of out of school activities which encourages a pattern of eating whenever is convenient.

Food manufacturers have recognised the change in family lifestyle with companies like Van Den Berg Foods re-styling its advertising and promotion accordingly. In 1999, it was acknowledged that the characters and lifestyles of the OXO family were not a true reflection of the majority of UK households. The OXO family were axed and replaced with a campaign featuring a teenager "rustling up" a simple pasta dish whilst his mates sat in front of the TV.

For many consumers, convenience is nothing new and there is a generation of young people who have lived with convenience products all their lives. Even with the popularity of celebrity chefs and TV food programmes, it is possible that these people will never have an interest in home cooking and may consume convenience foods throughout their lives.

Cooking at home of course is open to interpretation. For one it can be pouring, stirring and re-heating and to others, cooking from first principles. The convenience factor has also affected the style of food products available:

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  In the USA and growing in the UK is the "meal solution" or the "home meal replacement". This is where consumers are eating at home more, but cooking less, and so there is a tendency to purchase fully cooked, "heat to eat" meals at restaurants and/or supermarkets for home consumption.

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  An extension of the ready meal is the component meal. Each ingredient is fully prepared and separately packaged, requiring the consumers just to put them together and cook using very simple cooking instructions.

There are several important key trends that emerge when studying the data from the new convenience products purchased by the shopping team at CCFRA and it is clear that manufacturers have developed products that incorporate elements of several trends.

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  More products are being developed and adapted for the snacking market and many can be reheated quickly in the microwave. Trends show that consumers are buying microwave ovens at an earlier stage in life and that ownership is becoming more universal. For example, students leaving home for the first time and at the other end of the age spectrum, elderly people reheating the smaller portioned ready meals.

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  Ranges of "healthy" convenience products have been developed for the health conscious consumer. Low fat or low calorie is the main consumer requirement but also products that have added vitamins and minerals, are a functional food, low in cholesterol, salt, sodium or sugar are in great demand at the checkout.

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  Food safety is a big issue in the UK as a direct result of the many food scares witnessed over the past few years and so organic food has moved from niche to mainstream with traceability being a key issue.

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  The demand for "something different" has led to an increase in the number of ethnic food products available with the authenticity of the product being an important marketing tool. The UK's newer generations are reported to be as familiar with ethnic food as with roast beef, with nearly three quarters of British households buying ethnic food (The Grocer, 1999b).

Today's consumers not only demand convenience but also choice, and taking account of the changes in lifestyle and the key trends that emerge has a dramatic effect on new product development in the food industry.

Further reading is available from the marketplace reports on trends and product sectors that are published by CCFRA regularly. Contact the Publications Department. Tel: +44(0)1386 842040; Fax: +44(0)1386 842100; E-mail: pubs@campden.co.uk

Daphne Llewellyn DaviesCampden & Chorleywood Food Research Association (CCFRA), Chipping Campden, UK