London, UK: Retail sales of frozen food have grown by 13.5% since 2019, according to a report by the Frozen Food Federation.
The report shows frozen sales have maintained their momentum despite restaurants, cafes and pubs opening in April 2021 following 12 months of pandemic restrictions.
The Frozen Food Report shows:
• 19.8% growth in sales of savoury frozen foods since 2019 with plant-based up 16.8%
• Shopping patterns continue to flex in response to changes to government guidance on working from home, social distancing and the re-opening of pubs and restaurants
• Frozen fish sales increase by £141.2m in two years.
The return to eating out has led to less frequent shops and smaller shopping baskets which has seen the year-on-year value growth of the frozen food market slow to 1.2%.
Richard Harrow, chief executive, Frozen Food Federartion said: “After two years of disruption, the retail market is returning to pre-pandemic normal, but frozen has attracted over 400,000 more shoppers in the last two years.
“The retail frozen food market is now worth £7.1bn and has added nearly £850m worth of sales since 2019 that’s value growth of +13.5% and volume growth of +9.2%. With the total grocery market broadly flat, frozen sales have significantly outperformed the market.
According to Kantar ice cream is the largest single category in frozen, worth £1.3bn to retailers and accounting for 18.6% of their overall frozen food sales, up from 17.3% in 2019. Frozen fish broke through the £1bn barrier in 2020 and sales in 2021 represent a 16.4% (£141.2m) gain in two years.
