Meals and Soups

In 2022, the full return to out-of-home activities (including work and social occasions) strongly benefitted ready meals, a category that had suffered in the previous year. Indeed, despite price increases, the relevance of busy lifestyles and the…

In 2023, the ready meals category is showing growth in both retail volume and current value terms, mirroring the trends seen in the broader meals and soups category. Demand patterns are returning to normal cycles as employees embrace everyday life…

After several years of decline, soup in Argentina saw overall retail volume sales return to positive territory in 2022. While it looks set to record an improved performance in this regard in 2023, growth remains modest, partly due to strong…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

Category players are customising their products to cater for various formats demanded by consumers sensitive to new lifestyle trends, such as South Korea's millennials and Generation Z, to maximise convenience. For instance, one of the habits among…

Meals and soups witnessed positive growth in volume terms in 2023, thanks to the normalisation of consumer lifestyles post-pandemic, including the reopening of schools and the return of consumers to their physical workplaces. The number of women in…

Current value sales growth within meals and soups remains strong in 2023 with broader inflationary pressures a key contributor to this. While fuel costs have stabilised following the initial shock in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the…

Health and wellness trends have been on the rise since the pandemic in Mexico. According to Euromonitor International's Voice of the Consumer: Lifestyles Survey 2023, 55% of consumers actively seek products containing healthy ingredients in their…

Meal kits are becoming increasingly popular among Italian consumers. This trend is winning over more and more people because it offers many advantages. First, meal kits are very convenient and practical because they save time and effort. There is no…

Ready meals has been experiencing price increases across the board over the past year, due to the increased costs for manufacturers in the light of global inflationary pressures, and with socio-political unrest leading to supply chain issues. On the…

Meals and soups is set to see a noticeable slowdown in its retail current value growth rate in 2023 compared with 2022, and is expected to turn to retail volume decline. The primary reason for this is the removal of the zero-COVID policy, which has…

While retail volume sales of meals and soups in Australia continue to grow in 2023, another increase in the average unit price ensures that current value growth is more dynamic. Unit price growth is being driven by inflation and labour shortages.…

Value sales continues to be low for meals and soup and in 2023, there is expected to be significant volume decline. High inflation continues to hamper demand, with soup and meals mainly bought by higher income consumers. Soup accounts for most volume…

Inflation has presented numerous challenges for innovation in several categories, and soup is no exception. When inflation becomes an issue, the overall cost of production increases, which can have a significant impact on the performance of the…

Nestlé remained a leader in cooking ingredients and meals in 2022 but lost the top spot to Kraft Heinz. Despite increased consumption boosting sales worldwide, Nestlé saw a decline in its market shares. Ready meals and frozen pizza saw prominent…