Western Europe

Meals and soups saw strong value growth in Austria in 2023, driven by inflationary pressures leading to high unit prices, while volume sales are also bouncing back into stronger positive growth. That said, challenges remain, as while inflationary…

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…

Variety and freshness are proving key in the further development of ready meals. Efficient supply chains that promote freshness as well as greater attention to ingredients are enabling more appetising ready meal products. Flash freezing and day fresh…

The ready meals category in Finland is continuing to shake off the stigma of being unhealthy and a bad dietary choice. In fact, ready meals is doing very well in the market and seeing regular product launches and improved recipes, as more Finnish…

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…

Demand for frozen ready meals in Germany continued to grow in 2023, as consumers increasingly searched for convenient meal solutions that catered for busy lifestyles. As German consumers juggled work, family and social commitments, there was a…

Players are capitalising on the particularly strong demand for healthy ready meals as these combine the desire for a nutritious meal with convenience and consumers’ now entrenched habit of consuming ready meals whilst at work. At the end of 2022, new…

During 2023, ready meals in Ireland experienced a surge, stimulated by innovative product offerings. Among these, The Gym Kitchen's Beef Lasagne and Tesco's Beautifully Balanced Chicken & Sweet Potato Katsu Curry stood out for their unique selling…

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…

Sales of meals and soups have seen steady growth in retail volume terms in 2023 while value growth has been boosted by price rises. With consumers leading busier lives they are finding themselves with less time to prepare meals from scratch while…