The value of India’s packaged foods market is poised to jump to US $50 billion by 2017 from the present level of $32 billion, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 35 per cent on the wave of rising popularity and demand for convenient, ready-to-eat food, according to results from a survey just released by the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM). Average annual spending on packaged food, which has increased by 32.5 per cent from 2010-15, is expected to touch around 35 per cent in the coming years.
D.S. Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM, said the consumption of packaged food is much higher in large cities, especially in metropolitan areas where life is fast-paced and new types of products and variants are available. There is a large divide between urban, semi-urban and rural consumers, with urban dwellers accounting for 80 per cent of all packaged food purchases.
About 76 per cent of the survey’s respondents representing nuclear families said they have less time to spend in the kitchen. Furthermore, nearly 79 per cent of unmarried people prefer convenience food. The main categories of packaged foods are bakery products, frozen processed food, canned/dried processed food, ready-to-eat meals, dairy products, diet snacks, processed meat, health food and drinks.
Key drivers in the rise of frozen food sales in India include the expansion of organized retail store operations; changing demographics skewing younger and populated by more urban women working outside the home; improved packaging; rising disposable income; and an increase of freezer facilities around the country, with cold storage warehousing space reported to have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 16% from 2008-14.
