Neeta Malik has over 40 years of experience in creating and running successful businesses. She founded Heirlooms, a high-end textiles company which has won several awards for their performance in exports of silk products. For the last many years, she, along with Ashutosh, has been running Destinations Unlimited, a luxury travel business. Good food being an essential part of a successful travel experience, she is no stranger to delighting her clients with delicious food. She now teams up with Sachin and Ashutosh to bring the magic of Meatington to every table! Meatington caers to a discerning palate with a wide variety of options in ready to cook and frozen snacks.
After almost three years of a lull, we are looking forward to a festive season full of joy and merriment this year. Shopping and splurging will peak during the festive season, driving growth in the FMCG industry. The Ready-to-cook and frozen food sector is expected to grow exponentially, and there is a lot of optimism within the industry. The frozen food industry is upping its A game to enhance consumer interaction and drive growth further through consumer engagement, innovative marketing plans, and editorial integration to make the most of this trend.
Ready to Cook products are now part of our lifestyle habits and the festive time will accelerate the trend further.
During the pandemic period, people were encouraged and driven to adopt ready-to-cook and frozen food products due to the variety, taste, comfort and affordability. Since this has become a priority and habit for them, the demand for ready-to-cook snacks and meals will further boom during this festive season. To capitalize on this trend, the industry is all set to kick off many consumer-friendly packages.
Home is where the celebration takes place
In this year’s festivities, homes will become the new social hub, and consumers will therefore move celebrations indoors. The ready to cook sector hopes that in-home consumption will gain even more traction. The eating habits of people have been drastically changing over the last few decades, but the growth of trends during festival times is also being driven by a number of other factors as well. There is no longer any desire on the part of housewives or working women to spend time in the kitchen preparing traditional snacks and meals during celebrations. Apart from this, people are also looking for variety and innovation when it comes to their snacks. Meanwhile, they also want to enjoy festive meals and snacks at home that taste just as good as those they would get at their favorite fine dining establishments, when they return home from work. To meet this craving and desire, ready-to-eat food becomes the best option. Depending on their comfort level and leisure, they can indulge in a variety of snacks within minutes, adding cheer to the celebration and making the day more enjoyable!
Ready to cook snacks are a preferred option
One of the major changes in consumer behavior is their preference for healthy and hygienic snacks that can be prepared quickly and easily. Now, instead of opening traditional dabbas of biscuits, cookies, chips, instant noodles, etc, they are looking for multi cuisine and lavish treats such as snacks, kebabs, tikkas, rolls and so on, that satiate their cravings for multi cuisine meals. That’s exactly what the ready to cook segment offers. As far as the demand for ready to cook items is concerned, the market is reasonably optimistic that the season will offer a semblance of growth and households will stock up for the holidays.
New Launches & Gift packs
In addition, the industry is launching new products through attractive gift packages and grand promotional campaigns during the festive season. In addition, they have maintained the health trend in all of their products, using healthy ingredients to promote metabolism and immunity as well as promote better health. These gifting packs are tailored to meet the tastes and preferences of different consumers. You can choose from a wide variety of traditional snacks, appetizers, continental, hyderabadi, or mughlai dishes. It doesn’t matter if it is chai, brunch, lunch or dinner time, variety is the king during festive time. Value packs are given special attention and celebratory packs are making moments of togetherness more memorable.
Special Offers
Special ready-to-cook meals are available for kids, men, and women alike. The festive season, however, also comes amidst rising commodity pressures. Despite the rise in commodity prices this year, the spirit of the sector has not been dampened by it. Besides the new launches, companies are preparing special festival packs for gifting.
It is expected that the sector will receive a much-needed boost during the period, as many people plan to participate in celebrations. With consumer interests in mind, a bouquet of special offers, product sampling sessions, and marketing campaigns are planned to promote key products. In keeping with taste preferences, the ready-to-cook segment has launched a number of novel snack options, along with gifting solutions, e-gift cards, and special discounts from e-commerce sites. The sector is also leveraging digital platforms to drive consumption. In addition to the fact that people enjoy munching and snacking during the festive season, hence making frozen snacks excellent gifting options. The sale of these gifting packages will add to the trend and growth of the industry.
Added reach to consumers with marketing and PR push
In this year’s marketing and PR push, the frozen food sector has been more active. The festive season is a good opportunity to spread the word about frozen food and engage with consumers. In order to reach the maximum number of customers during the festive season, marketing expenditures are being raised as well. In regard to our marketing initiatives at Meatington, we have lavish plans to ensure higher visibility, new product launches, distributor engagement, etc. For at least another quarter, the trend is expected to grow.