Better Bites
Healthy, convenient and ethnic are key trends for frozen appetizers.
Convenience, ethnic flavors and better-for-you products are driving forces in today's frozen appetizer category, as consumers turn to grocery store freezers for high-quality products to eat at home.
Manufacturers and retailers are seizing the opportunity to grow frozen and refrigerated food sales, which topped $100 billion last year, according to Nielsen's State of the Industry 2011 report, which was sponsored by the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA).
According to Kim Ruiz Beck, chairman of Dinuba, Calif.-based Ruiz Food Products Inc., category drivers include the economy, the importance of convenience and flavor, consumers' desire for healthier foods, and the popularity of ethnic foods like the Mexican fare her company offers.
Comfort foods like macaroni-and-cheese bits or wedges are trends observed by Basheera Enahora, senior brand manager at Golden County Foods Inc., based in Plover, Wis. "Emerging ethnic-inspired items are also starting to make more mainstream headway — for example, ethnic items beyond Italian, Mexican and Asian," says Enahora, whose company makes SNAPPs frozen appetizers.
Steve Goodman, spokesman for Santa Clara, Calif.-based Lifestyle Chefs, focuses on nutrition when asked about frozen appetizers, which he says are also defined as hand-held prepared foods other than full entrées. "Consumers are demanding more healthy products that are baked, not fried; all natural; vegetarian; trans fat-free; lower-sodium per serving; and possibly gluten-free," Goodman says.
Popular Products
The trends experts identified are happening within the context of a new economic reality: People are dining at home, even as the economy improves.
"Consumers have cut down on their restaurant visits and have been seeking restaurant-style frozen foods as a replacement," says Beth Conner, director of marketing for Asian brands at Houston-based Windsor Foods.
That has helped the category, especially ethnic offerings.
"While the snack and appetizers category has been relatively flat over the past year, the Asian segment has seen extremely strong growth," Connor says, citing IRI data showing dollar sales up 20 percent for the year that ended May 20. "We believe this is driven by the fact Asian foods are perceived to be difficult to cook from scratch, so consumers would prefer to purchase them, and as a cuisine, Asian has become quite popular in recent years, so it isn't surprising that popularity has found its way to the freezer case."
Windsor's frozen appetizers include its recently introduced battered green beans.
Tukwila, Wash.-based InnovAsian Cuisine Enterprises Inc. also specializes in Asian appetizers, including its best-selling pork egg rolls, says Michele Saga, category marketing manager-packaged goods.
Mexican food, too, continues its popular run. According to Ruiz's Beck, mainstream consumers' "palates have developed a sophistication that results in a desire for more and different frozen Mexican food choices."
On the healthy-food front, Lifestyle Chefs offers diabetic-friendly, all-natural, vegetarian hand-held frozen sandwiches, including Creamy Vegetable Medley and Herb Vegetable Melange, plus Thai Satay, Black Bean Fiesta, and the Indian-inspired Channa Masala and Peas Paneer.
Finally, innovation is evident in the new appetizers joining SNAPPs' lineup. The Sweet Corn Fritter — sweet corn nestled in a savory breading — has been selling well since its March debut at Walmart.
"We see that success continuing with the launch of additional fritter items in the future. We're launching a Sweet Potato Pie Fritter in September at Walmart," Enahora says. "Fritters are unique to the frozen appetizer market."