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Evolution of RTE and RTC products in India: Is the market ready?
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Tuesday, 04 October, 2022, 16 : 00 PM [IST]
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Prachi Patil
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Suppose there is one thing that remains constant about Indian consumers irrespective of headwinds such as the pandemic, recession, or high inflation. In that case, it has to be the love for quality food. The country has diverse food options ranging from elaborate meals to snacks. However, one of the significant challenges modern consumers face is the lack of time to prepare authentic Indian food items and snacks that take long hours before cooking.
There is a diversity of ingredients, and long hours of soaking are required for food items such as boiled chickpeas (chole) or snacks like sprout salads. While there is already a massive and rapidly growing ready-to-eat (RTE) food market in India (estimated to be over $56.93 billion and growing at a CAGR of 9.59%), recent times have seen a surge in demand for ready-to-cook products too.
The pandemic has been one of the biggest catalysts of this rising trend of ready-to-cook, not just RTE foods. There is an increased concern about hygiene and the quality of ingredients used in packaged snacks or RTE food items. Even when the laws mandate mentioning the quantity and names of the ingredients used, there is not much information on what quality or hygienic manufacturing practices were deployed in production.
That’s where millions of Indian households in the metro cities, especially in families where both husband and wife have professional lives to manage, are increasingly looking at ready-to-cook food products. Sprouts that are pre-boiled and need to be heated or just the addition of water and spices as per taste to create the gravy and can be consumed anytime are some of the options for health-conscious Indians.
This type of ready-to-cook food culture has been prevalent in Western countries, but it has failed to get traction in India for specific reasons. For instance, unlike the European or North American countries, India's climate is warmer, making it challenging to store pre-cooked food items for a long time. Even refrigerated, they tend to lose the freshness of taste or aroma over time. Further, authentic Indian food items are complex and require high-quality ingredients sourced from the region to which the dish belongs.
For instance, the Punjabi Chole is a north Indian dish, and the ingredients required to cook it are quite different from something like Kashmiri Roghan Josh or Spicy Chettinad Curry. The challenges of sourcing, preparing, freezing, transporting, and storing such food items made them costly, and very few brands dabbled in this arena.
However, technological advancement and intelligent manufacturing processes deployed by food-tech start-ups enable new labels to enter the market and cover this gap. The key to ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat market success is to assure the customers that only authentic and high-quality items are used in preparing the dishes. Further, we are witnessing advancement in packaging technologies wherein the brands can now overcome the challenge of food items getting spoiled in transit or when kept unrefrigerated at room temperature.
Lastly, the biggest draw for the ready-to-cook items will come from the diversity and taste on offer. Not many years ago, if you tried eating a ready-to-cook gravy like rajma or paneer, you might have found the taste too bland. Similarly, there are different tastes and cuisine as well as individual preferences which couldn’t be catered to by the ready-to-cook items which came with pre-mixed spices.
On the other hand, new age manufacturers encourage customisation and preparation of dishes in one’s distinct style. They aim to reduce the cooking time and make the cooking of complex dishes convenient, quick, and healthy. For instance, customer A might not want to add tomatoes to a dish, or customer B might not want to make it too spicy. With customisation options, it is all possible, and that’s where every Indian household can now enjoy culinary delight without sweat.
There is no doubt that Indian consumers are well primed to explore the world of Ready-to-Cook, and Ready-to-Eat food offerings from brands that assure quality and the right price points!
(The author is founder, Suzu Agro Pvt. Ltd)
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