The following article appeared in Fresh Produce Journal:
“The UK has become a nation of frozen food fans as the pandemic has changed the way we shop, according to a new report.
“The Frozen Food Report, released on 15 February, says consumers are shopping more online, spending more per shop and have bought more frozen food than ever before.
“Last year shoppers spent an extra £872 million on everything from frozen avocado to ice cream, making frozen the fastest growing food category, second only to alcohol.”
Key points:
- The report, produced by British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF), reveals the value of frozen food sold in the UK stores is now £7.21bn, with a year-on-year growth of 13.8 per cent. This is faster than total grocery, which grew at 11.3 per cent, and fresh and chilled at 9.3 per cent.
- March 2020 was a record month for online penetration, which increased by 140,000 households, and further research in October found only 26 per cent of shoppers stated they intend to revert to pre-pandemic shopping habits, with 55 per cent saying they will never shop in the same way again. This means, potentially, 74 per cent of shoppers will maintain their online shopping habits long-term.
- The frequency of shopping trips has declined overall, but increased for frozen. Basket spend is also higher.
Image from Pixabay
