Retail sales statistics just released in the United Kingdom show that frozen food continues to excel with value growth across almost every category in the 52-week period ending on June 18, 2017.
The latest numbers, provided by Kantar Worldpanel, value the retail frozen food market as a whole at over £5.8 billion, having seen impressive 3% value growth year on year, outperforming growth in the big four retailers which saw sales increases of between 1% and 2.3%.
Yet again, ice cream and confectionary categories are driving growth with a combined increase in value of over half a million pounds year on year. These two categories, which include on trend frozen fruit and also saw 5% and 8.7% volume growth year on year, respectively, now represent 22% of the value of the total frozen food retail market.
Another category performing well is frozen vegetables, which has seen a 4.5% value and 3.4% volume growth year on year. This category includes notable hero products such as sweet potato and diced onions, which tap in to the growing consumer trend for convenient nutrition and easy meal preparation.
John Hyman, chief executive of the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF), commented: “This quarter’s results are particularly encouraging with almost across the board value growth and exceptional volume growth in many categories. What we’re seeing is testament to the fact that frozen food, particularly frozen fruits and vegetable ingredients, is ideally placed to tap into the trends underpinning consumer eating habits.
“More and more people are jumping on the meal-prep trend and frozen makes it even easier to access convenient yet nutritious food as well as the occasional sweet treat which is seeing sales rise.”
About the Federation
The BFFA is the leading trade association for the frozen food sector in the United Kingdom. Its mission is to promote and protect the interests of the frozen food industry. Members cover the whole of the entire cold chain of supply. For more information visit www.bfff.co.uk.
