With the ongoing cutbacks in eating out, dining in is playing an increasingly important role in our eating habits, with ongoing demand for restaurant-style foods that are ready prepared or easy to construct from a limited range of components. The food industry has continued to respond to this demand with a wide range of convenience options, and this has driven product activity in ready meals and other prepared foods.
Innova Market Insights recorded a marginal fall in new product activity in its ready meals category in 2011, although this takes a very wide definition of the market, encompassing not only ready meals, main dishes/meal centres, meal kits and pizza, but also prepared and plain pasta and noodles, potato products, prepared salads, rice, sandwiches and other meal components. Pasta and noodles (plain and prepared) accounted for a leading 40% of launches, ahead of ready meals, with just over 13%, and main dishes, with just over 10%.