The France frozen food market is estimated to grow at a substantial rate on account of the increasing consumption of frozen food by working population coupled with the changing taste trends among the French people.
The market growth is derived by various advantages offered by frozen food as compared to the other unhealthy fast foods in the market. Frozen food market in the country is one of the largest food market in terms of the revenue and sales generated when compared to other food industry segments.
French people prefer high flavour, high quality, ethically distinctive, and less calorie food. Thus, market players in the market are brining innovation to launch superior quality products to cater to the demand of consumers and to sustain in the highly competitive market domestic frozen food market. For instance, Chain Picard, a French frozen food company, focuses on selling premium quality products through 800+ stores in the country.
The market is segmented based on food type and distribution channel. The Food type segment comprises frozen ready meals, frozen pizza, frozen potato products, frozen vegetables, frozen bakery products, frozen seafood, frozen meat and others. The other segment includes frozen desserts, ice creams, and frozen smoothies. Frozen ready meals segment is the largest market for frozen food, when compared to other food segments. Ready meal is the mostly preferable alternative to fresh food, and the segment is expected to grow on account of affordability, instant cooking, and convenience factor over the coming years.
The distribution channel for France frozen food consist of online and offline channels. Offline channels include super and hyper markets and local retail shops. The offline channel is the largest market by distribution channel. Within the offline channel, hypermarkets and supermarkets format tends to dominate the market. The trend is expected to continue to dominate the various formats over the coming years. Among other formats, specialty retailers also command a considerable share. Online distribution channel is anticipated to be the fastest growing market for frozen food during the next coming years, owing to the ease of access factor. Furthermore, online channel saves times to visit an offline store, allows consumers to order while on-the-go, compare product prices from various vendors, which contribute to the growth of the online distribution channel in the country.
During 2012-2014, the market for frozen food grew owing to new frozen food product launches in France. The increasing in working women population, and longer working hours plays a vital role in the growth of frozen food market. Additionally, convenience factor contributes big part in purchasing decision, which is adding to the upsurge of the market during the forecast period.
Besides the prevailing competition in the market, growing adoption of fresh food is expected to affect the growth of the market. Also, millennials, which is one of the key consumer groups for frozen food, has showcased increasing inclination towards eating outside and fresh food, a trend which may affect the growth of the market. In addition, there is a growing adoption of chilled food products, which presents considerable competition to the frozen food market. However, innovations in food packaging, convenience, health and wellness, and increasing population are some of the growth opportunities which is expected to contribute to market growth during the forecast period.
The major players operating in the France frozen food market comprises of Supergel, Ardo Gourin, Picard Surgelés, Ajinomoto, Charal, Findus France, and Nomad Foods Europe.
