Frozen Foods Suffering From Consumer Misperceptions

More consumers are bypassing the frozen foods section for fresh fare.

June 30, 2014

NEW YORK – Clarence Birdseye wanted his family to have fresh food all year long.  The inventor traveled to the Arctic and observed how people quickly froze and preserved fish and meat. Based on what he saw, Birdseye revolutionized the food industry with his “Quick Freeze Machine” in the 1920s. But since then, consumer perception of frozen foods isn’t what it used to be.

Citing Nielsen data, The Wall Street Journal reports that dollar sales of frozen juice, chicken and pizza all are down since 2009, and sales of frozen meals fell 3% to $8.92 billion from 2009 through 2013, according to Euromonitor International.

Frozen dinners aimed at healthy eating are taking a hit. ConAgra has discontinued several of its Healthy Choice frozen dinners because of lagging sales and changes in consumer tastes, writes the newspaper.

"Within this foodie culture the last few years, I think there has been a change in how some people define healthy foods," Rob McCutcheon, president of ConAgra's consumer frozen-food division, told the newspaper, adding, "There is definitely a push toward products that are more real, higher quality, more homemade and closer to the source."

ConAgra is reworking its frozen meals to appeal to consumers as a simpler and natural option by using fewer ingredients, such as fresh garlic instead of garlic paste. The foodmaker is also focusing on older consumers and empty nesters with its Healthy Choice brand by advertising heart-healthy benefits and smaller portions. "Lots of brands are going after younger households, so baby boomers are a [better fitting] target, and they're online as much as anybody," McCutcheon told the newspaper.

Nestlé's Lean Cuisine frozen-meals brand lost more than a quarter of its sales over the past five years, to less than $1 billion, according to IRI . Paul Grimwood, Nestlé's U.S. chief, commented that until recently, "the frozen-food industry hasn't been particularly good at communicating the benefits of frozen food," a nod to a new multimillion-dollar marketing campaign by the American Frozen Food Institute that emphasizes how freezing can preserve nutrients in food, compared to the rotting factor of fresh fruits and vegetables sitting in produce bins. 

To reboot its Lean Cuisine brand, Nestlé is launching products “that tap into the fresh-food movement,” writes the newspaper, such as frozen "salad additions" that include chicken, dressing and other toppings, which consumers heat up and add to their own lettuce.

How consumers shop for food, whether in the frozen or produce section, boils down to misperception. Consumers may believe that frozen foods are less healthy, but in realty some frozen items often have fewer preservatives because temperature prevents rotting/spoilage.

Todd Hale, consumer analyst at Nielsen and frequent NACS State of the Industry Summit speaker, commented that sometimes food prepared at a grocery store that appears “fresh” to the consumer is actually frozen from a warehouse and reheated at the store, such as deli and bakery items.

But for a younger generation that didn’t grow up on TV dinners, Millennials don’t perceive frozen as healthy.

"I don't remember the last time I ate a frozen meal," Brandon Allen, a 21-year-old college student shopping at a Chicago Walmart Marketplace, told The Wall Street Journal, adding that the only frozen items he buys are fruit for smoothies. "Otherwise I buy as fresh as possible. … I just perceive fresh to generally be healthier and I get more fulfillment when I cook my own meals with fresh ingredients."

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