(Food-Beverage-News.Com, January 03, 2017 ) Microwavable food is a prepackaged meal that requires very little preparations. It has become an important part of modern diet. Busy life schedule coupled with increasing number of working women and ease of preparations are factors boosting the microwavable foods market. Packaging plays an important role in ensuring that the food remains suitable for cooking in microwave oven, even after a longer period of time. Different technologies are used for packaging include patterned susceptors technology, new tray-lidding methods and new cook bag techniques.
Global microwavable foods market is bifurcated into three categories: frozen microwavable foods, chilled microwavable foods and shelf stable microwavable foods. Frozen microwavable foods represent the largest and fastest growing microwavable foods product segment.
North America and Europe are the largest market for microwavable foods. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to be fastest growing market for microwavable foods.
Busy lifestyle paired with increasing number of working women, ease of preparation and increasing urban population are some of the major driving force for microwavable foods market. Hectic life schedule and corporate work culture in the cities have forced the consumers to demand more of ready-to-eat meals or other ready-to-eat food items. Microwavable foods help the customer to fulfill their demand of tasty eating with less time consumption. Additionally, increasing number of working women is driving the global microwavable foods market. Majority of working women in the western countries have less time for cooking. According to U.S. Department of Labor in 2013, there were 127.1 million working women in the U.S. which is expected to grow at 5.4% by 2022. The lifestyle of urban population is more fast-paced as compared to the rural population. Fast-paced lifestyle attracts people to microwavable foods.
Consumer perception towards microwavable food acts as a restraint for microwavable foods market. Sometime microwavable food perceived as an inferior substitute of fresh food. Consumers believe that food prepared few months or more before it is consumed is not fit for health.
he major companies operating in the microwavable foods market include Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation, Bellisio Foods Inc., Campbell Soup Company, ConAgra Foods Inc., General Mills Inc., Kellogg Company, Kraft Foods Inc., McCain Foods, Nestle SA and Pinnacle Foods Group LLC.
