3 Is there a future for frozen foods? What do you think are the main marketing priorities for frozen food manufacturers? The UK frozen food market, worth around £4bn per year

(according to the British Frozen Food Federation), has been a market in meltdown for a while. Consumer perception is that it is ‘food of last resort’, something to have as a back-up when the rest of the kitchen cupboards, and the fridge, are bare. Frozen ready meals in particular are perceived as inferior in quality to their chilled counterparts and less adventurous in their recipes. This perception is not helped at the point of sale. For one thing, this is a very competitive market and price promotions are dominant. Mintel (2004) estimates that 40–50 per cent of sales of frozen meals are made at promotional prices. In addition, it is difficult to display frozen merchandise imaginatively and attractively;

the old-style chest freezers in stores require the shopper to take an active role in bending over to see what’s in them, while the newer upright cabinet freezers place a big heavy door between the goods and the shopper. Either type of freezer inhibits browsing and interaction with products, and neither of them makes it easy for shoppers to spot a brand or package from a distance to draw them to it. Chilled merchandise also benefits from the fact that it requires only refrigerator storage and almost 99 per cent of UK households own a fridge. Freezer penetration is a lot lower at around 60 per cent of households.