The demand for RTE-meals in six European countries

submitted by MATFORSK AS

The European market for ready meals (RTE) is quite diversified. This is revealed in a study on the RTE-market in eight European countries; Belgium, Finland, Greece, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands. The study is part of a large, European research project called DoubleFresh, which is aimed to make healthier and fresher RTE-solutions.

Norway

In spite of little innovation within the category, frozen RTE meals still sell more than chilled RTE-meals in volume. But while the value of frozen RTE-meals have been quite stable, chilled RTE-meals have had an annual 20% value increase over the last four years. The last category of RTE-meals is canned food, which is priced low and creates relatively little value compared to sales volume.

The dominant RTE-meal manufacturer in Norway is Fjordland. Today Fjordland produces more than 40 different chilled RTE-meals. These products are mostly one-portion packages, produced by sous vide-technology. The meals vary from traditional to more exotic dishes. The shelf life for these products is nearly four weeks. Some of Fjordlands' most successful products are traditional Norwegian Christmas meals that are time-consuming to prepare from scratch. Although these meals are prized higher than the regular RTE-meals, they contribute to increased sales of chilled RTE- meals in November and December.

The RTE-meal market in Norway is not limited to those who live alone. Rather, the market is restricted to those who eat alone. Students, single adults, widows and kids who do not have time to eat dinner due to football training or drama classes might eat RTE-meals.

Although 77% of Norwegian households have microwave ovens, only 38% use microwave ovens for RTE-meal heating.

Greece

The Greek RTE-market is small and immature. In 2002, Greece had the lowest RTE market growth of all the European countries. Few RTE-meal products exist in the retailer stores. Canned food and frozen products like pizza and risotto, as well as RTE-components (like sauces from “Uncle Ben’s”) are present. Complete RTE-meals are almost non-existing.

Greece has approximately 11 million inhabitants. Most of them still prefer to buy fresh food and prepare the meals from scratch. Most retailer stores in Greece, even the discount stores, offer fresh meat. 25% of the meat is pre-packaged.

Although fresh food is twice the price of frozen food, people buy fresh. Consumers think that the producers try to hide something when the product is marinated. Greek consumers prefer to buy whole carcasses of chicken. If they only buy parts of a chicken, like chicken breast or chicken legs, people might perceive them as poor - even though the price per kilo for chicken breast is higher than for a whole chicken.

The Greek food industry still assumes that the trend is going to be the same in Greece as in the rest of Europe. The question is how long it will take to get there. Food safety is the main challenge for the Greek food producers, with their long and hot summers.

Finland and Sweden

There is one main difference between the RTE-meal markets in Finland and those in Sweden: In Finland almost all RTE-meals are chilled. In Sweden, most RTE-meals are frozen; however chilled products are increasing in Sweden. Thus, one of the producers has somewhat different product portfolios in Finland and Sweden.

Germany and Switzerland

The two major Swiss retailer chains sell private labelled RTE-meals, and Germany is a difficult market with several private labels. There is a considerable price competition in Germany, while the Swiss market is different in this respect. Typical figures are: Germany – 4 EUR/kg and Switzerland – 9 EUR/kg. Thus, there is a stronger demand for high quality products in Switzerland. However, the appearance of Weight Watcher’s products in the German market showed that it is possible to sell higher priced products of higher quality.           

Ethnic foods need a local touch. About 40% of all ready meals on the Swiss market are Asian;  in Germany, only about 5%. About 80% of the products contain meat. Only about 5% of the recipes are based on fish. It is quite common that parents buy ready meals for their children to eat when they come home from school. About 80% of all ready meals are bought by women and about 80% of the meals are eaten by men). Quite many older people eat ready meals in Germany.

Belgium and The Netherlands

Chilled prepared meals dominate the Dutch RTE-market with a value share of almost 45%. Although chilled convenience foods are developing very well and growing faster than the total food market, surprisingly frozen ready meals have grown slightly faster than chilled ready meals over the last few years.

Since 2003, the Dutch retail market has been characterised by a price war, initiated by Albert Heijn. In the fall of 2006, an end seemed to have come to this price war. The retailers play an important role in the RTE-market. The RTE-meal market consists of mostly private label products.

In the Belgian market, meals produced by sous vide-technology are much more common than in The Netherlands. Compared to The Netherlands, Belgian consumers have a richer culinary history. It seems that Belgian consumers have more knowledge about good food and how to prepare and enjoy it, and they go out for dinner more often.

In 2002 the total ready meals market of Europe was 47,1 billion Euro; the Dutch and the Belgian made up 8% of this market.

About the report

The report is based on face-to-face interviews with manufacturers and retailers in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Greece, The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany/Switzerland. Consumer researchers from Matforsk in Norway, SIK in Sweden and Wagningen University in The Netherlands are responsible for the market analysis.

What is a RTE-meal?

- A complete meal consisting of components high in carbohydrates, meat/fish and sauce.
- Easy and quick to prepare; maximum 10 - 15 minutes preparation time.