FDBusiness.com

Sales of ready meals by the major supermarkets topped £2.3 billion in the UK over the last year, according to market analyst IRI. Its research reveals that although the total ready meal market (frozen and chilled packs) is in decline, it is the traditional British premium ready meal dishes that are seeing the highest levels of growth – 7% unit and 8% value growth in the last year.

Nearly two-thirds of chilled ready meal sales are at the premium end – 92 million packs were sold in the last year, generating £293 million in revenue – as consumers renew their focus on quality and good value instead of looking at just the cheapest price.

“We’re becoming a nation of foodies absorbed in cookery programmes such as Jamie Oliver’s 30 Minute Meals and The Great British Bake Off but our ability to cook has fallen off a cliff,” says Richard Moule, director of analytics and shopper knowledge at IRI.

The stand out trend of the recession has been the shift in consumer spending to cope with a reduced disposable income. Nowhere is this better illustrated than with the trading down from eating out to dining in. So whilst the credit crunch kicked in, Premium Ready Meals surprised many by booming.