Are your peas
where they are
supposed to be? Andrew Key*
Which inspection technologies can be used in ready meals?
eady meals are a quickly
Recently, the category has widened to
convenience (particularly those living alone
growing category. But
include more online options. As well, we’re
or younger adults without cooking skills),
they’re not straightforward
seeing the convergence of home delivery of
while health-conscious consumers favour
to inspect.
set ingredients for people to cook set recipes
low-fat meal options available for them.
What is a ‘ready meal’?
at home — a ‘ready meal that you cook’. Lots
Historically, less affluent consumers
Principally, they are pre-
of new companies have entered this space.
have been the main consumers of ready
cooked full meals, either frozen or chilled,
However, for the purposes of this article, I’ll
meals, but Euromonitor research has
that people simply reheat at home. It’s
look at the ‘done it for you’ version.
highlighted increasing numbers of more-
a meal on the table in minutes that’s all
affluent consumers taking the ready-meal
done for you. And in the words of CSIRO
Growth upon growth
option over their former preference of
Professor Martin Cole: “Ready meals are
The past few years in particular have
eating out or getting takeaway when cook-
not 1970s TV dinners, but highly nutritious
seen the rise of ready meals in Austral-
ing is not on the menu. This has been
packages designed by chefs.”
ian households, with the category’s value
directly attributable to improved quality
Cole, director of CSIRO Flagship of
growing 8% in 2015 on top of 10% the
and attractiveness, as well as improve-
Food, Nutrition and Bioproducts, told last
year before. According to IBISWorld, the
ment in the perceived quality. IBISWorld
September’s Future of Food conference
category’s revenue now sits at $900 mil-
data also attributes “premiumisation” as
that ready meals as a business are taking
lion per annum.
boosting the popularity of high-value, pre-
off globally. “Everyone is time poor and yet everyone wants really good quality food.”
18 | PREPARED FOOD - October 2016
Several factors are driving this growth: as Cole said, time-poor consumers like the
cooked and pre-marinated meat varieties especially.
www.preparedfood.com.au