7 recipes to help the frozen food sector grow

It´s not fresh news that 2016 was a good year for frozen products. A new study confirms these results: according to the prestigious panellist Nielsen, last year frozen products grew 2,5% in volume and rose 1,1% in price, which means that in value they grew 3,7%, a mark above the average for food. In order to keep this upwards trend, the Frozen Product Platform suggests 7 initiatives, 7 recipes to sustain growth in this sector.

The objective of the Frozen Product Platform (coordinated by AECOC and endorsed by the main manufacturers of ice cream and frozen products) is to propel the sector growth. This mission is deployed with initiatives such as conducting a new survey in 300 outlets, pilot tests to improve the shopping experience, or carrying out a new study about the drivers and behaviour of the ice cream and frozen products shopper.

The first initiative is known to the general public: the frozen food month has been broadcasting for the last 14 years the virtues of frozen food and obtaining significant results in terms of improving consumer perception regarding these products. In this instance, the main message is that professional deep freeze is the ideal conservation method for products.

With the goal of improving customer experience in frozen food and ice cream, the Frozen Product Platform will deploy a second Point of Sale Audit, which will analyse over 300 outlets nationwide. At the same time some pilot tests will be launched in volunteer distribution chains to put in practice improvements posed by the different audits and check results.

Another project will be a research on the main distribution chains in Spain to assess their weight and potential for frozen products and develop plans to cooperate with each one of them to tackle their needs. The shopper behaviour will be analysed too, with the aim of shedding light on the main obstacles or barriers for regular consumers/shoppers of this category.

Another line of work will be raising awareness on the importance of maintaining the chain of cold to preserve the product quality, for which different informative documents will be updated and re-edited, while Spanish distribution chains will be offered the opportunity to give training sessions to their retail personnel about the proper handling of frozen products and ice creams from reception to shelf reposition.

And last, at the end of the year the Frozen Product Platform will celebrate again the sector meeting point and give its prestigious Awards.

More information on the Código 84 magazine, by AECOC.