Industry Insights
Frozen food market in Japan was valued at USD 4,864.4 million in the year 2016. The trade barriers in this country is considerably less strict and there are four basic laws pertaining to food safety and standards. Every time a new food product is shipped to Japan, the product has to go undergo four laws which include Food Sanitation Law, the Food Safety Basic Law, Japan Agricultural Standards Law, and Health Promotion Law. Japan is the third largest economy in the world after the U.S. and China. The country also ranks 34 in terms of ease of doing business as of 2017 according to World Bank. Japan heavily depends on imports, as only around 12% land is cultivatable in the country.
Japan frozen food market revenue, by type, 2014 - 2024 (USD Million)
In Japan, imported frozen food is either used as raw material or ingredients. It is often considered as these good quality frozen food products can also be sold individually under a good brand name. however, Japanese department stores are looking forward to merging with new partners with an appealing brand name. As more and more consumers in this country are favoring easily prepared meals or reedy-to-go food, this industry is projected to gather the attention of local Japanese people.
Segmentation by Type
• Frozen ready meals
• Frozen pizza
• Frozen fish/seafood
• Frozen Meat
• Frozen potato products
• Frozen bakery products
• others
Frozen ready meals have accounted for a maximum market revenue share of around one-third of the market in the year 2016 followed by meat and seafood. Frozen meat and fish are anticipated to be the immediate growing opportunity owing to Japan being the largest importer of seafood and poultry, especially broiler. China, Chile, Thailand, Russia, U.S., Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea, Norway, and Taiwan are the key suppliers of fish and seafood to country. Pork products and bread are also expected to offer the long-term growth to the industry over the future period.
Segmentation by Distribution Channel
• Online
• Offline
Offline distribution dominates the market in Japan and has accounted for a majority revenue share in the year 2016. Online distribution channel accounted for very minimum market revenue share in the year 2016, however, is expected to grow owing to growing ageing population of Japan who prefer shopping online.
In terms of offline distribution channel, supermarkets, hypermarkets, and convenience stores are expected to enjoy maximum market share owing to upcoming construction activity in the form of shopping malls which is expected to provide an opportunities to new players to establish their market and local players can further grow their market with in-store promotions and on-site demonstration.
Competitive landscape
Rise in the number of working women households and consumers favouring frozen food products is expected to see growth in the imports of frozen food ingredients. Manufacturers are coming up with new strategies, new technology, new packaging and product diversification. This new trend of introducing new technologies, more creative food innovations, and better food ingredients is likely to improve Japanese frozen food industry for the long term. The top companies in the market includes Maruha Nichiro Seafoods, Nichirei, TableMark, Ajinomoto, and Nippon Suisan.
