Proteins and 24/7 meal solutions: A key to winning value-oriented consumers' trips

'Healthy' and 'premium' buyers favor fresh taste, innovation and flavor

Healthy and premium buyers seek different traits in frozen foods. For both, though, fresh taste, innovation and flavor continue to bring them to the aisle.

These buyers, who represent two-thirds of consumers, are willing to spend more on better quality frozen meals, and they like to try new brands or new flavors/varieties.1

Frozen meal innovations attracted 15 million new users to the category between 2008 and 2010; ConAgra Foods brought in 9 million of them.2 This was largely due to Healthy Choice (Café Steamers/Steaming Entrees) and Marie Callender's (Fresh Flavor Steamers) steaming technology.

With the right mix of healthy and premium brands, such as Healthy Choice and Marie Callender's, retailers can tailor the frozen food aisle for both healthy and premium buyers and maximize base sales.

Healthy Consumer

Health-oriented consumers look for healthy meal solutions, but say it is rarely easy to make or find the right choices. These consumers say that:

• Taste is the most important meal attribute (68%); specifically,
  fresh taste (60%) is key.3
• Easy-to-find, truly healthy nutrition for their body is what they
  seek (57%).

What's a good way to motivate these shoppers while they're browsing in the frozen aisle? Meal solutions that:

• Eliminate food boredom, and span the taste experience from comfort to   contemporary.
• Balance taste and nutrition.
• Promote healthy eating with fresh, delicious flavors enhanced by steaming, and
  inventive combinations of better-for-you ingredients.

To do that, the Healthy Choice brand makes eating well surprisingly appealing by attracting shoppers ranging from young transitionals through seniors with steaming entrees, such as Café Steamers, Steaming Entrees and Complete Meals.

Premium Consumers

Premium consumers say they want to prepare a homemade meal, but any time they can find a shortcut to allow more time to unwind — they will. These consumers say that they:

• Prefer meals that take little or no effort to
  prepare (88%).3
• Seek premium quality (80%) and homemade
  taste (78%). 3

What will wow them?

• Uncompromised convenience.
• Time-savers that allow them to slow down to
  savor a great meal.
• The taste, look and feel of homemade.

Marie Callender's delivers on all three fronts with authentic, premium homemade meal experiences that range from main courses, such as Fresh Flavor Steamers, to multi-serve Bakes and pies.

What's New?

Below are some new items that will help retailers continue to engage the healthy and premium consumer:

In late summer, Healthy Choice will launch enhancements to eight licensed Top Chef-inspired Café Steamers SKUs. Its association with Top Chef the #1 food show on cable TV, with 1 million 'likes' on Facebook helps bring major taste credibility to the brand's healthy steaming platform.

Additionally, the brand will roll out new Modern Classics SKUs to attract younger baby boomers with 20% more vegetables and more mainstream, restaurant-inspired meals. Traditional Classics will continue to appeal to older baby boomers by offering a complete meal, including dessert.

Shipping soon, two new multi-serve Bakes varieties (Three Meat and Four Cheese Lasagna, and Hearty Three Meat Marinara Bake), and several varieties of smaller-size fruit pies will bring consumers the new flavors and eating occasions they are looking for. 


1Source: Mintel U.S. Frozen Meals Report, Sept. 2010.
2Source: IRI Total U.S., all outlet consumer panel.
3 Source: ConAgra Foods Need-State Study, Oct. 2010.

 

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