Ready profits in Ready-To-Eat "There has been a major shift in food habits in the metropolitan cities. About 79 per cent of households prefer to have instant food due to steep rise in dual income level, standard of living and convenience," said a survey by industry body Assocham. The poll highlighted that 76 per cent parents, mostly both working, with children under five-years in the big cities, are serving easy-to-prepare meals at least 10-12 times per month in some form or the other. "The consumption of packaged food is much higher in the urban areas, especially metros, where life is fast-paced, attracting lot more companies to launch new types of products and variants," Assocham secretary general DS Rawat said. The paper also pointed out that there is a large divide between urban, semi-urban and rural consumers. Urban areas account for 80 per cent of the demand for all packaged food. The changing Indian lifestyle is creating a multitude of opportunities for market players, across industries. The Indian middle class, in particular, is witnessing a paradigm shift in their lifestyle and living standards. Many reasons contribute to the launch and success of ready-to-eat meals/microwaveable meals. These include the rise in the number of women in the workforce, and the resultant time-paucity, along with the increasing athome socializing; the preference for nuclear families; preference of young professionals residing in metropolitans for academic and employment purposes; the growing acceptance of Western food; and the need for on-the-move freshly-cooked foods. Due to cultural diversities, companies are increasingly focusing on launching regional RTE products. Another factor driving the penetration of RTE food products is their easy availability across major retail chains, hypermarkets and supermarkets in the country. Retort Processing is the most acceptable form of food preservation. These are ready to eat food products which require just warming in a microwave oven or water bath before eating. Packaging of this food should withstand thermal processing. Retort pouch is the flexible laminated food package of light weight. It maintains the shelf-life, texture and nutritive value of the food.
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