Frozen food to come back in fashion

It claims the credit crunch, rising mortgage costs, decreasing house prices and increasing food and fuel bills will drive shoppers to make savings on their weekly shop. And they will turn to the frozen aisle to do so.

“This year will see a big comeback for the frozen aisle as people remember the value of buying something, defrosting what you want and saving the rest – the ultimate in portion control,” said srcg senior client director Andrew Phipps.

Retailers who enhance their frozen ranges are poised to reap the benefits, said Phipps.

According to srcg, switching to frozen food would also help consumers reduce food waste – the government claims more than £8bn worth of food is needlessly thrown away each year.

“The saving to be made in reducing food waste will offset the increased food costs we are seeing in the UK,” said Phipps.

Shoppers are also likely to turn to value lines and to discounters like Aldi and Lidl to reduce their shopping bills, said srcg.

Phipps cites figures from a leading price comparison website that show significant prices hikes in the past year including: chicken: up 77%; British mince beef: up 64%; eggs: up 40% and milk: up 17%.

By Fiona Briggs