Ready Meals Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report, by Type, End User and Distribution Channel : Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 2022-2031

Ready Meals Market Research, 2031

The global ready meals market was valued at $138.1 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $408.0 billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 11.9% during the forecast period.

Ready meals are considered as a cost-effective alternative meals and their preparation requires less time, as they are precooked. These meals are available throughout the year and are safe to consume. Though processed food cause loss of nutrition, various methods utilized to prepare ready meals ensure that the loss of nutrients is minimal in most cases.

Market Dynamics

Increase in convenience offered in terms of time saving and little efforts required for the preparation of these meals drives the growth of the ready meals market. Moreover, preference for these meals by the working population and students has increased, owing to the fact that it requires only heating before consumption, which reduces the overall effort of cooking. In addition, these meals serve as low-cost alternatives to junk food, which is anticipated to boost their demand in the near future. However, increase in health awareness and negative perceptions pertaining to health effects of these products among the consumers restrain the market growth.

Nevertheless, the industry faces multiple challenges, which includes counterfeiting. Adulteration of ready meals containing fake ingredient results in big loss to key players, as there are large number of counterfeited food products available in the market. Furthermore, counterfeiting of established brands often tarnishes the brand image and brand loyalty and such malpractices challenge the market expansion for leading players operating in the market.

Organic is one of the trending market that is common in almost every food and beverage product. As consumers are becoming health-conscious and are aware of unhealthy production and cultivation of food crops and their effects over the body, the demand for organic products also rises in the market. For instance, benefits associated with organic products include no usage of harmful chemicals, fertilizers, GMO ingredients, pesticides, radiation, or genetic engineering. Therefore, the growth in demand for organic coupled with the awareness trend regarding health benefits of ready meals are expected to boost the demand for ready meals in the global market during the forecast period. Furthermore, availability of such products is becoming much easier through the use of online stores and delivery services, which further aids in the ready meals market growth.

Segment Overview

The ready meals market is segmented on the basis of type, distribution channel, and region. On the basis of type, the market is divided into canned/preserved ready meals, chilled pizza, chilled ready meals, dried ready meals, frozen pizza, frozen ready meals, and prepared salads. On the basis of end user, the market is divided into residential and food services. On the basis of distribution channel, it is classified into store-based retailing and online retailing. The store-based retailing segment is broadly classified into supermarkets/hypermarkets, discounters, convenience stores, and others. On the basis of region, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

By Type

On the basis of type, the frozen pizza segment holds the maximum market share owing to high consumer demand and low prices in the market. However, the prepared salads segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment during the forecast period.

By End User

On the basis of end user, the residential segment dominated the global market in 2020, however, the food services segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment during the ready meals market forecast period.

By Distribution Channel

On the basis of distribution channel, the online retailing segment is the fastest growing segment owing to rise in internet penetration and smart phones among the consumers. However, the stored-based retailing segment is expected to remain the largest dominating segment of the market owing to ease of accessibility and availability of the ready meals products.

Competitve Analysis

Prominent players have adopted product launch as their key strategy to gain significant Ready Meals Market share in the market. Key players profiled in the report include Bakkavor Foods Ltd., ConAgra, Greencore Group Plc., JH Heinz Company Ltd., Nestle SA, Fleury Michon, Unilever Group, Northern Food Ltd., Kerry Foods Ltd., and Premier Foods Group Ltd.

Other players not profiled in the report include Oetker-Gruppe, Frosta AG, Campbell Soup Co, Bofrost Dienstleistungs GmbH & Co KG, Iglo Bird's Eye Frozen Foods, Freiberger Lebensmittel GmbH & Co KG, Hilcona AG, Gartenfrisch Jung GmbH, Bonduelle Groupe SA, and General Mills Inc.

Key Benefits of Ready Meal Market:

• The report provides a quantitative analysis of the ready meals market trends, estimations, and dynamics of the ready meals market size from 2020 to 2030 to identify the prevailing opportunities.
• Porter’s five forces analysis highlights the potency of buyers and suppliers to enable stakeholders to make profit-oriented business decisions and strengthen their supplier–buyer network.
• In-depth analysis and the market size and segmentation assist to determine the prevailing ready meals market opportunities.
• The major countries in each region are mapped according to their revenue contribution to the ready meals market .
• The ready meals market player positioning analysis facilitates benchmarking and provides a clear understanding of the present position of the market players in the ready meals industry.