Frozen foods: consumption reaches 17.2 kilos per head for the first time (+2.4%)

Over 1 million tonnes of frozen products consumed in 2023 for an annual per capita consumption that for the first time touches 17.2 kilos per person (+2.4% in one year). The annual report by Iias - Istituto Italiano Alimenti Surgelati confirms the good performance of the sector, which exceeds initial estimates that against a live drop in annual retail sales (-1.1%) records growth in the out-of-home channel (+5.3%). Door-to-door loses 8% and e-commerce 5% but weighs less on the total market. The market value of €5.8 billion, up 6.5%.

 A favourable trend that continues in the first five months of 2024," say Iias, with purchases holding up well. Confirming its leadership in terms of volumes consumed are frozen vegetables, with more than 215 thousand tonnes (-1.9% compared to 2022), among which prepared foods stand out with an increase of +3.7%, reaffirming the success of "comfort food". Ease of preparation also pushed potatoes into second place, 110,500 tonnes purchased up +8%, and fish products with 92,500 tonnes, including breaded preparations.

Ready meals followed with over 66,600 tonnes, down -1.1%. (grown, however, by more than a third since 2019) . A separate discussion forfrozen pizzas, which reached 63,500 tonnes, down -6.2% from 2022. However, it should be noted how this segment continues to innovate by introducing, for example, new formats and ingredients, in order to keep up with the different needs of consumers. Finally, we should not forget the savoury specialities (pancakes and other products), which maintained their share of 33,300 tonnes and meat with 15,700 tonnes in 2023 (-3%).

"2023 was a year of titanic challenges: from the supply of raw materials, hampered in the first months of the year by extreme weather events such as the drought, to the serious difficulties encountered in logistics and transport at a global level, to the relentless increase in inflation, which was particularly penalising in the food sector," explains Iias president Giorgio Donegani. In spite of these critical issues, 2023 closed positively, thanks above all to the strong boost given by Fuoricasa, which rebalanced the gap created with Retail, after the definitive exit from the two-year lockdown period (2020-2021) that had led to an exceptional boom in household consumption (+14% in 2021 compared to 2019).