🐧 It’s almost a wrap for us at the 2024 National Frozen and Refrigerated Foods Association, Inc. Conference in Maryland, and it was a great opportunity for Benjamin Chalier and me to connect with frozen food suppliers and key grocery category managers, all while gaining insights into the evolving trends shaping the frozen food industry.
It was also great to see our friend Tracy Slominsky Aquila of Southeastern Grocers take on the chairmanship of the NFRA!
A few of my major takeaways were:
📈 Frozen Food Sales Trends: Sales in the U.S. frozen food market continue to grow at a 5% CAGR for the next several years. Despite stabilizing somewhat post-pandemic, frozen foods remain a top choice for convenience and variety, with prepared meals and desserts leading in dollar share. The biggest consumer group driving this growth trend is GenX households
🏷 Value Perception & Private Label Shift: With consumers feeling the pinch of inflation, many are shifting towards private label products, which are offering more value at a lower price point. This trend is significant as shoppers continue seeking affordability without sacrificing quality. One surprising data point shared by Brian Kay at Numerator, is that households are actually buying more private label products than they admit to buying in surveys, which implies that they are (i) not conscious that their buying behaviors have shifted towards own-brand or (ii) that they are not admitting it when asked.
💉 GLP-1 Medications Impact: The rise of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic is reshaping food consumption, with users reducing their intake of high-calorie foods and snacks, driving demand for healthier, portion-controlled frozen meals. Brian Kay also shared data that households with a member who is taking a medication like Ozempic for weight loss are actually reducing their grocery spending while most households are increasing their spend.
🛒 Consumer Preferences: The demand for globally inspired flavors, smaller portion sizes, and air fryer-ready frozen foods is booming, with a strong focus on healthier, convenient options. Younger households are consuming more international food and are, themselves, much more diverse than GenX and millennials.
📌 Hyper-local Manufacturing: There was no data indicating a major shift to hyper-local frozen food manufacturing yet, but Relocalize is working to change that for next year ;-) Joking aside, we were surprised how many category managers had heard about our vision for decentralizing and decarbonizing food supply chains and our proof-of-concept micro-factory launched in partnership with SEG.
👏 Thank you to the NFRA team for putting on a great event, especially Sarah Thompson and Melissa Anderson for making our first time at the event a great experience.
#NFRA2024 #FrozenFood #PrivateLabel #localfood #Innovation
