Opportunities In Germany As Chilled Challenges Frozen Dominance...

Frozen foods have reigned supreme in Germany for the last 25 years, but a quiet revolution is taking place in this traditional food market according to Food From Britain (FFB) Germany's Senior Consultant, Patricia Czerniak. As consumers' need for convenience grows, sales of chilled meals are on the rise and are certainly gaining popularity with the new breed of 'affluent, urban and mainly single' German consumers. Five years ago, a trip to the shops for the average German housewife was split up into a main shop and a top-up. Price was a sales driver and shoppers would visit a number of stores in order to find the best promotions and price offers. "Out of a population of 82.5 million, only 17 million women actually work, one of the lowest percentages in Europe," said Patricia. "Women have tended to stay at home once they are married to raise the children, who usually only go to half-day school. Therefore cooking for the family was a daily routine and demand for convenience foods was low." But the social fabric of Germany is changing - more women are working than ever before and single households now top 38 million, accounting for some 37% of all households in the country. In some cities, such as Munich and Frankfurt, one and two-person households account for over 50% of the total. "Demand for easy to prepare and time saving foods is exploding and these 'new' consumers are tending to cook in the classical sense only at the weekend," adds Patricia. German retailer Rewe has been at the forefront of this chilled food revolution, and over the last five years has slowly started to introduce chilled meals into its product portfolio. Starting with just limited shelf facings, with one or two traditional German or Italian offerings, now a typical store will have ten or more dedicated to this growing area, with a wide range of ethnic dishes such as Chinese, Thai and Indian. "When chilled ready meals were first introduced, German consumers were wary about the short shelf-life and worried about the freshness of the products," explains Patricia. "A lot has been done to educate them about the sophisticated processing techniques, and slowly the concept has started to take off." Now many retailers in Germany are looking at the chilled ready meals area which according to Patricia is one of the most dynamic sectors within the grocery market in Germany. "This presents a great opportunity for British manufacturers," said Patricia. "Not only do UK producers have an excellent reputation in this area, the price points for unique branded products of high quality are also high for this type of product." "We are already working very successfully with companies such as Noon Products Ltd, who have broken into the market with a range of specially developed Indian and Thai chilled ready meals since 2003." Patricia also has some advice for UK exporters looking to take advantage of this growing trend. "Germans have a different taste expectation, so a 'Sweet and Sour' dish sold in the UK might not have an acceptable taste for Germans. Therefore working with a good committed partner that understands the market in terms of logistics, packaging and product development is essential to success." Breaking into the German market requires time and investment, but tipped as the 'market to watch' in this changing retail environment, the rewards can be high. Source: www.foodfrombritain.com