Cooking Ingredients and Meals

Despite tightened budgets and ongoing price increases, ready meals has continued to experience steady volume growth in 2023 as consumers seek convenient and fast meal solutions. Interestingly, the increase in food prices has benefited the category,…

The performance of meals and soups is being supported by consumers’ return to busy lifestyles, thus leading to a higher demand for convenience. Indeed, at the end of a busy workday, people seek easy, quick, and convenient ways to prepare their meals…

The local workforce has returned, with employees actively seeking convenience as they rebalance their professional and personal lives. Therefore, retail demand for ready meals and prepared salads continues to steadily rise in the United Arab Emirates…

In 2023 meals and soups is still being impacted by inflation, affecting both volume consumption and value growth. In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, the volume rise of ready meals may seem surprising, but as budgets tighten, these convenient…

With the exception of the e-commerce-dominated meal kits category, in 2022 private label saw share growth across most categories in meals and soups, as consumers weathered inflated food costs. While unit price rises for ready meals look to be cooling…

Ready meals is seeing healthy retail sales in both volume and value terms. Overall, sales are being driven by consumers’ demand for convenience, as people have returned to their busy lifestyles – especially so in the large cities – whereby they have…

While retail demand for sauces, dips and condiments is increasing in 2023, current value growth remains more dynamic, primarily driven by an increase in unit prices. Notably, the surge in unit prices in 2022, which can be attributed to the…

In 2023, sauces, dips and condiments is set to turn to decline in retail volume and current value terms. This is primarily due to the Chinese government’s lifting of the zero-COVID policy in 2022. With no more lockdown measures in place, consumers’…

Sauces is the best-performing subcategory in 2023, albeit still seeing mixed sales trends. For example, the hot weather of the summers in 2022 and 2023, along with mild winter periods, have not inspired consumers to cook themselves hot and hearty…

Cooking and table sauces has been particularly impacted by the high inflation that has hit Italy in 2022/2023, with the price of mayonnaise, for instance, spiralling upwards. The increase in the price of sunflower oil, a key ingredient in the…