Recession is good news for the frozen food category — the tougher the economy gets, the more consumers turn their backs on fresh products in favor of comparably cheaper frozen foods.
In an economically weakened Europe, food producers have responded well to the needs of families looking for more cost-effective ways to keep everyone fed. In many cases, this has required the expansion of frozen product ranges or the creation of completely new lines.
The result is that while fresh is still considered the best option by most European consumers, particularly in markets like Spain, France and Italy, frozen isn’t the ugly stepchild any more. Certainly, the German and Russian markets rely heavily on frozen fish and this is increasingly becoming the case in the United Kingdom.
The benefits of frozen are well documented, from the long shelf life and convenience of the products to retaining nutritional contents and reducing food waste, but far and away the biggest asset that frozen has is its affordability — it invariably offers shoppers value for their money.
Supermarket research conducted by TheNewIceAge.com confirms that UK shoppers switching to frozen food can save themselves around 34 percent on their weekly groceries. This analysis, compiled by the Centre for Food Innovation at Sheffield Hallam University, shows a basket of frozen groceries bought for a family of four including seafood products like salmon, costs on average just GBP 15.45 (EUR 19.33, USD 24.20) compared to the same items bought fresh at GBP 23.25 (EUR 29.09 , U.S.26.41). This represents a saving of GBP 405.60 (EUR 507.44, USD 635.21) per year.
Click here to read the full story that ran in the July issue of SeaFood Business magazine >
