According to retailers, consumers are choosing frozen food over fresh food to keep grocery costs down during a cost-of-living crisis.
According to research agency Kantar, frozen food sells better in supermarkets than fresh food. The British Retail Consortium said consumers are “exchanging to save money”.
Sales of frozen poultry such as chicken and venison rose in the three months to mid-March compared to the same period last year.
Frozen food sales, including ready meals, pizza, chips and pies, also rose, according to the study.
While overall food sales have declined as consumers buy less amid rising prices, frozen food sales have remained robust.
Food inflation in the UK reached 17.5% last month. Consumers act by shopping at more supermarkets, especially cheaper stores like Aldi and Lidl, and by shopping less often and buying fewer products.
The experts also suggested that people prefer frozen food to fresh food because it has a longer shelf life and is less likely to result in waste.
Myron Jobson, financial analyst at Interactive Investor, said: “Increasingly, shoppers are choosing to buy frozen food over fresh food to mitigate the devastating impact of recent inflation on their finances.
“The choice of frozen foods also allows you to use as much or as little food as possible. [as you like] the rest don’t do their best by reducing waste and saving money.
“Shopping carts are shrinking and many of us are ditching premium brands for cheaper alternatives, while many are ditching fun items.”
Chris Ford, co-CEO of itsu [grocery]said additional innovations in frozen foods have also helped make the frozen food section a “target” in supermarkets, and that the company’s sales of frozen foods such as gyoza have increased by 30 to 40 percent.
He added that the “snobbery” of frozen foods like pizza and chips has also been undermined.
Richard Walker, executive chairman of Iceland Foods, said it is “not surprising” that consumers are switching to frozen food as it is “a less expensive option in tough economic times.”
Source: I News
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