Heat It Up

Healthful restaurant-quality recipes could help fire up the stagnant frozen meal and entrée segment.

Frozen meals and entrées typically fall somewhere in between home cooking and restaurant takeout in terms of cost and preparation time. As a bonus, they wait patiently in the freezer to be ready at a moment's notice when mealtime rolls around.

In the past, what the consumer gained in preparation simplicity and budget friendliness came at the cost of quality and overall nutrition. Fortunately for consumers, today's frozen meals and entrées not only taste better, but are better for you and come in many varieties to please almost any palate.

The overall category is incredibly large, especially the single-serve frozen dinner and entrées subcategories. But data from Chicago-based market research firm SymphonyIRI Group show flat to negative category growth for all of the total subcategories during the 52 weeks ending Feb. 19 (U.S. supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchandiser outlets, excluding Walmart). (See the table, p. 32.) Private label fared slightly better, but dollar share remains minimal at best.

To help thaw out this stagnant category, retailers will have to make sure their store brand offerings give consumers what they are looking for in terms of quality ingredients, restaurant-quality recipes and, of course, convenience.

Hot frozen trends

According to "Frozen Meals — US," a 2010 report from global market research firm Mintel, frozen meals and entrées long have battled against consumer perception of sub-standard quality and nutrition. But nearly half of the consumers surveyed in a Mintel study still feel that frozen meals can provide "a convenient way to eat a healthy meal." Improving the nutritional profile of such products would appeal to a large percentage of respondents and is an area store brand frozen entrées and meals should further pursue.

"Today's consumer is definitely looking for higher-quality products with healthy alternatives," says Rick Wiser, director of sales and marketing for BrucePac, Silverton, Ore. "We are seeing a huge influx of requests for cleaner ingredient decks, lower sodium with [fewer] additives and fillers."

Specifically, he adds, consumers are seeking higher-quality grains and vegetables to complement the protein portion of the entrées.

Frial Inc.'s Anne-Sophie Mommessin has seen similar patterns. The Palo Alto, Calif., company's director of sales and marketing explains that "the most popular all-grain items are the quinoa (red and white) and bulgur" because not only are they full of protein, but they are a great alternative to pasta and rice.

Recipes, in general, also are getting a redo but with an ethnic twist.

"Spicy, Indian-inspired sauce [s], like the one in Trader Joe's Quinoa Duo with vegetable mélange," Mommessin says, are in demand.

But the demand is uneven across store brands within different regions of the country.

"This may be due to the different demands/consumption patterns in areas of the country," says James Johns, business director and assistant vice president for Day-Lee Foods' Processed Foods Division, Santa Fe Springs, Calif.

In addition to health-conscious recipes, consumers want healthful cooking methods. Some of these processes include steam-in-bag for multi-serve entrées or steam-in-tray/bowl for single-serve entrées. In Europe, a very popular cooking process making waves is the "papillote," Mommessin notes.

"The meal is sealed in a parchment paper and cooked in [the] microwave without any oil or butter," she explains. "This heating process enhances the flavor of each ingredient while keeping all moisture."

Smaller portion sizes are another trend that will become more important as the typical American household continues to change.

"When you consider 62 percent of American households are made up of [fewer] than three people today," Wiser says, "and close to 60 million households are baby boomers with no children, [and] not to mention, nearly 20 million Generation X households are without children, the portion reduction makes a lot of sense."

Do consider improving the nutritional profile of store brand frozen meals and entrées to appease the growing base of health-conscious consumers.

Don't introduce a product unfamiliar to consumers without communicating important details such as origin and suggested usages.

Do think about offering more healthful cooking methods — such as steam-in-bag — for preparation of store brand meals and entrées.

Avoid missteps

The large size of the category can present plenty of opportunities for mistakes in strategy or execution if a retailer is not careful.

"Communication is key for a launch of a new product," Mommessin maintains, "especially if it is an item that consumer[s] are not used to see[ing] on the shelves. It is important to inform and educate consumers about the origin and uses of new innovative items."

Her advice for retailers is to communicate with customers through the store flyer or on the packaging by adding recipe ideas, possible usages and more.

And, above all, never compromise price for quality.

"The consumer is looking for something he or she can put together quickly and still have an enjoyable eating experience," Wiser says. "Unfortunately, there are a number of entrées available in today's marketplace that fall short on both of these criteria."

Another misstep to avoid is a lack of balance among private label offerings.

"Our experience has been at Safeway where there may be much too much Asian-themed private label — they have three different store brands," Johns says.

Mommessin suggests that retailers might want look to Trader Joe's approach, for example, here.

The company "is really innovative in its offer of frozen meals and entrées," she notes. "It is not afraid to take risks while launching a product and to diversify their offer with their own innovative recipes based on market trends."

Don't discount the benefit of meshing traditional marketing strategies such as sampling with newer strategies such as social media.

Promote big and small

When it comes to merchandising or promotion of store brand frozen entrées and meals, meshing new methods such as social media with the tried-and-true such as sampling could work to grow the overall category in the long run.

"Retailers that are utilizing social media for promotions," Wiser says, "whether it is for a specific sale or for the publishing of coupons, are achieving broad base success with consumers who are likely to be attracted to this category."

He points to higher-end retailers such as Eugene, Ore.-based Market of Choice "who use this type of media to further enhance their weekly print ads to attract consumers who do not typically read or receive the regular print ads."

Any added effort on the promotional side also is worthwhile in a category that struggles with limited display space and a higher cost per square foot.

"Why sell cheaper product in the same space as a higher-cost product?" Johns asks. "Frozen space is very limited, [and] retailers should look at selling an incrementally higher-priced (and better-quality) product to make incrementally more sales dollars, as well as penny profit that comes with it. Better quality product offerings will also mean more repeat business."

Looking ahead, it is clear there is no turning back to the "old days" for frozen entrées and meals.

"Sustainability, carbon footprint, food safety, good quality, healthy eating — all of these things, I believe are not so much trends as they are the norm going forward," Wiser says.

The savviest of retailers and suppliers "who pay attention to this and understand the concept and can consistently deliver a product at a fair price will not only survive, but thrive in the coming years," he adds.

Look what's new

New from Walgreen Co., Deerfield, Ill., is Good & Delish Five Cheese Lasagna. Featuring layered whole-wheat lasagna, herbed ricotta cheese and meat sauce — topped with mozzarella, asiago, Romano and provolone cheeses — the single-serve microwaveable lasagna is said to contain 20g of protein, 0g of trans fat and 7g of fiber. The preservative-free trayed frozen product retails in a 12-oz. box.

Bremer Selects Beef Steak, Cheddar & Mushroom Flatbread Melt from ALDI Inc., Batavia, Ill., combines beef steak with a blend of mushrooms, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, and white cheddar sauce on flatbread. The single-serve frozen microwavable product is said to be free from trans fat and retails in a 6-oz. recyclable carton.

New from Toronto-based Metro is the Irresistibles Italian Style Deli Pizza Sub, an Italian-style bread topped with sausage, ham, pepperoni, part-skin mozzarella cheese, onions, green peppers and mushrooms. The single-serve frozen handheld product is said to be a source of vitamin C and fiber, and retails in a 280g recyclable carton.

H-E-B Classic Selections Texas Ranch Chicken Casserole from San Antonio-based H-E-B features seasoned shredded chicken, diced tomatoes, onions and jalapenos mixed in a creamy mushroom sauce, layered with corn tortillas and topped with shredded cheddar cheese. The multi-serve (four servings) frozen trayed product is microwaveable and retails in a 32-oz. carton.

Source: Mintel's Global New Products Database