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Convenience Foods driven by out-of-home consumers
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Monday, 05 October, 2015, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
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fiogf49gjkf0d Convenience foods are now repositioning themselves to be the future of ready-to-eat category of foods. All food processing majors are increasingly looking at this segment to provide ease of consumption to the fast-paced population. Being conveniently packed, these food packs can be easily disposed of providing the ultimate in convenience.
The key factors driving the convenience food category are the increased out-of-home consumption and with a growing population on the move who is willing to experiment. The young demographic population in the country is willing to splurge and plunge. There is also a growing in-home consumption where people are looking to effortlessly eat and discard the packs. In addition, this is an age of interest towards small packs and an easy to dispose attitude.
According to Chetan L Hanchate, CEO, Centre for Processed Foods, India is at the beginning of a tremendous growth phase and “we expect to see this high growth continue for several years.” There is immense opportunity for the various convenience food manufacturers. This segment is slated to grow at a rapid pace.
Leading players in the convenience food space include MTR, Maiyas Beverages and Foods, Haldiram’s, ITC Foods, Kohinoor Foods, Godrej, Yakult Danone, Del Monte Foods, MDH, Shakti Bhog, Mother Dairy’s Safal brand of frozen vegetables, and Nestle, to name a few.
The key objective of convenience foods is that they help shorten the time of meal preparation at home. There are certain category of foods which can be eaten immediately or after adding water, heating or thawing. Then there is a category of tinned foods including soups and frozen foods.
There is also a range of convenience foods, which includes ready-to-eat, ready-to-drink and ready- to-serve category. Another category of convenience foods includes rava idli mix, dosa batter, chapatis, and cake mixes which are somewhat prepared and need a few more minutes to be cooked and consumed. These products are seen to modify the cooking process for an Indian household.
According to Dr Sadananda Maiya, chairman and managing director, Maiyas Beverages and Foods Pvt. Ltd, convenience will drive multiple categories in food going forward. Already snacks and beverages are driven by convenience because these are seen to be easy-to-use and convenient to carry. This trend will carry on to other categories going forward as consumers across various categories of income are moving more towards convenience. The concept of convenience is seen to be moving from metros to mini metros and towns and tier II and III cities.
Currently Maiyas has a wide portfolio within the convenience format including some first-of-its- kind innovation like ready-to-eat foods in bowls which can be opened and consumed on the go. “We currently offer upwards of 50 products in the convenience category,” he added.
“Understanding existing pain points for consumers and addressing the need gap is going to drive this category of convenient foods going forward,” pointed out Dr Maiya.
Mysuru-based CSIR-CFTRI is now increasingly focussing on rural development programmes through science and technology applications to improve the lives of farmers and their families. The research has led to the development of nutrition-packed paushtik atta, sambhar masala tomato and green chilly sauce prepared on the farmlands. “These products have not just revolutionised the lives of the farming community but urban households too,” said Prof. Ram Rajashekaran, director, CSIR-CFTRI, who views healthy convenience foods to spur the growth of food processing research in India.
Meanwhile, Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), Mysuru, has developed frozen foods, anti-depression, anti-anxiety, anti-fatigue and nutraceuticals for the armed forces who are located in the farflung mountainous and snow-clad terrains besides high seas. From frozen chicken shreds, frozen peas, stuffed mutton rolls, vegetable kurma, short-term preserved chapatis, flavoured Indian breads, spiced potato parathas, besan burfi, stabilised chikki, fruit bar and compressed cereal bars are all examples of convenience foods, according to Dr Harsh Vardhan Batra, director, Defence Food Research Laboratory.
MTR Foods has a tradition of 85 years in authentic Indian vegetarian cuisine and is currently present in the breakfast, dessert and snacks categories which are viewed as the ultimate in convenience foods.
Meanwhile, GreenDot Health Foods’s flagship brand Cornitos offers a range of convenience foods for the young and old population on the move. Its range of 100% corn snack, gluten-free, zero cholesterol, and zero trans fats with no MSG, contains up to 40% less oil than regular potato chips. Corn is a good source of fibre and has digestive benefits which make nachos the perfect healthy snack choice. Its Olives and Herbs and Thai Sweet Chilli flavours are popular convenience snacks for travellers and sudden guests.
“India will have 65% of its population below the age of 35 years by 2020, and this poses a great opportunity for the already established market for convenience foods to grow even further. Exposure to global culture and improved career opportunities have resulted in better lifestyle and this category of consumers now have less time for everything. Technology penetration has opened up several avenues to make life easier than ever before, said Udit Saran, co-founder, EatonGo, which is a Bengaluru-based online food delivery startup.
Convenience food industry has seen many large format brands enter the scenario and grow successfully, and now it is providing ample opportunity for innovative startups to capture this space by taking the offerings to a whole new level. “From ready-to-cook, demands have moved to ready-to-eat. At EatonGo, we are working towards providing a solution to order even just one ready meal for customers who deal with paucity of time every day in their lives. Convenience matters most when it comes to providing real-time solutions and we thrive to cater to those who need it,” said Saran.
Coming to the range of beverages which are viewed as the ultimate in convenience are Hector Beverages’ Paper Boat, Hindustan Beverages 'Ready-to-use Filter Coffee Decoction,' Valencia Nutrition VitaMe, Dabur, Parle, Tropicana, and Minute Maid, which are now part of a regular diet and seen to be affordable options for the young Indian on the move.
Many of these beverages keep up the promise of offering only natural flavours that are also a notch down on sweetness. These beverages are infused with natural ingredients, no preservatives, have low or no sugar content and are rich in proteins, carbohydrates, making them healthier options to consume. For instance Hector Beverages’ Aam Ras, Jal Jeera, Chilled Rasam, and India’s first all natural, true brewed, gluten-free ice tea, with ingredients like Ginger Lemon and Tulsi are some of the most sought after, according to Neeraj Kakkar, founder-chief executive officer, Hector Beverages Pvt. Ltd.
“A big transformation in the convenience foods space is the emergence of flexible packaging options for the food and beverage industry. It has widened the scope for business opportunity. For instance, the use of retort pouch allows sterile packaging of a wide variety of food and beverages as it can be utilised in aseptic processing and an alternative to traditional industrial canning methods,” stated officials from Printpack Packaging Supplies (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Companies like Dai Nippon Printing (Thailand) Co. Ltd and Sterdill, which are packaging experts, are now focussing on providing advantages of packaging alternatives with ease-of-use and simple disposable options. The lightweight and alluring designs have products from noodles to snacks packed in cups.
Sterdill’s Stock Retort packs are used by global food processing players including Nestle, Campbell and Heinz to pack dairy, beverages, baby food, ready meals, meat, vegetables, fruits and seafood.
Even Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), which comes with a high gas barrier with oxygen absorbers and hermetically sealed containers, are used to pack ready meals, dryfruits, nuts, low water activity dairy and non-dairy sweets, nutrition powders, instant mix, and savoury products. The MAP technology enables to extend the shelf life of fresh food products. It not only substitutes the atmospheric air inside a package with a controlled mixture of gases, but it slows down microbial as well as biochemical activity, according to Hanchate.
As per the Madras Consulting Group report, the convenience food sector can be broadly classified into shelf-stable food and frozen foods. It is a highly organised sector with large players supported by the investments required in the state-of-art packaging technology, to ensure shelf-stable food products as well as equipment for Individual Quick Freezing (IQF) and cold chain for frozen foods. The convenience foods sector in India has now emerged as one of the fast-growing segments of the processed food industry, with metropolitan and tier 1 cities being the primary market. However, convenience food products have strong acceptance levels in south India for traditional recipes in convenience formats but low acceptance in eastern and northeastern regions due to high cost.
While a wide range of convenience food products are imported, several products from India are also finding significant shelf-space in the retail outlets outside India. The distribution channels vary based on the product type that is imported into India. Some players in this sector commenced operations to cater to the demands in the export market but given the increasing domestic demand, these companies are altering product mix to meet the demands of the Indian customers. Buoyed by the introduction of new variants which appeal to the tastes of the domestic customers, the convenience food sector is expected to witness strong growth in the future, according to the MCG report.
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