The ready to eat food market offers a wide variety of convenience food products such as frozen foods, canned food and snacks that require minimal or no preparation before consumption. These products provide convenience to consumers with busy lifestyles by saving cooking time. Ready to eat food products include frozen pizza, ready-to-cook meals, canned vegetables and ready-to-eat soups. The demand for healthy and nutritious ready meals is increasing as more people are focusing on maintaining a balance between health and convenience. Rising health consciousness and preference for food products with fewer preservatives are propelling the demand for fresh and organic ready to eat food options.
The global ready to eat food market is estimated to be valued at US$ 182.45 Bn in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 12% over the forecast period 2024 to 2031.
Market key trends:
The ready to eat food market is witnessing the trend of increased product innovation. Manufacturers are focusing on developing innovative packaging solutions and incorporating new flavors and ingredients to attract consumers. Functional ingredients like proteins, fibers, vitamins and prebiotics are being added to ready meals to enhance their nutritional value. Increased traction of plant-based and vegan ready meals is being witnessed to cater to the growing consumer base of health-conscious population. Adoption of sustainable and eco-friendly packaging materials is a key trend in the market. Companies are investing in R&D to develop minimally processed and clean label ready to eat food products to meet consumer demand for foods with simple ingredients.
Porter’s Analysis
Threat of new entrants: The ready to eat food market has moderate threat from new entrants due to high capital requirement and established brand loyalty of customers to existing brands.
Bargaining power of buyers: The bargaining power of buyers is high due to availability of substitutes and low switching costs. Buyers can easily switch to alternatives based on price and quality.
Bargaining power of suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers is moderate as there are many suppliers for raw materials used to make ready to eat food products.
Threat of new substitutes: The threat of substitutes is moderate as there are alternatives available such as home cooked or fresh foods. However, ready to eat foods provide convenience.
Competitive rivalry: The competitive rivalry in the ready to eat food market is high due to presence of many national and international brands competing on the basis of pricing, product differentiation, innovation and brand loyalty.
Key Takeaways
The Global Ready To Eat Food Market Growth is expected to witness high over the forecast period of 2024 to 2031.
Regional analysis – North America dominated the ready to eat food market and is expected to maintain its lead over the forecast period, followed by Europe. The growth in North America can be attributed to rising health consciousness and busy lifestyle of consumers in the region demanding convenient food options.
Key players operating in the Ready to Eat Food market are Biogen Inc., AstraZeneca PLC, Pfizer Inc., Novartis International AG, Merck & Co., Inc., Sanofi S.A., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Medtronic plc, Boston Scientific Corporation, Abbott Laboratories, Ceregene Inc., BioTime Inc., Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc., Neuralstem, Inc., and StemCells Inc. Ready to eat food brands are focusing on research & development to introduce healthier product variants to attract health conscious consumers. Companies are also using advanced packaging solutions for longer shelf-life and to cater to on-the-go consumption trends.
*Note:
1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
