There are huge opportunities for Kiwi cafés and restaurants to take advantage of the growing consumer need for pre-packaged, ready-made meals.
Driven by rising urbanisation and busy lifestyles, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) prepared meals sector is forecast to reach US$38.4 billion by 2023. GlobalData’s report ‘Opportunities in the Asia-Pacific Prepared Meals Sector’ revealed that ready meals emerged as the largest category which is expected to register the fastest growth in both value and volume.
The report identified Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan as the high-potential countries based on GlobalData’s unique scoring system, which involves the risk-reward analysis derived from multiple metrics. These metrics include market size and growth assessment, and political, economic, social, and technological assessment of 19 major economies in the APAC region.
Ready meals align well with time-starved consumers. Your café may already be a quick stop for takeaway coffee but imagine the revenue a fridge full of ready-made meals could generate. For many consumers, being able to grab a ready-made dinner from their favourite café while on their coffee break could be a game-changer.
The data identified that ready meals are on the rise over ‘meal kits’ which still take time to prepare. Priyanka Jain, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData said, “Consumers in the APAC region lead hectic lifestyles, leaving them with little time to cook a meal from scratch. This is resulting in the growing demand for prepared meals, as these are ready to eat or quick to make.”
The ready-made meal also fits seamlessly into the routine of health-conscious consumers with the opportunity to create meals with specific dietary needs in mind.
The increase and availability of eco-friendly, plant-based packaging also means that the ready-meal no longer has to be a guilty pleasure for the conscious consumer. Fully recyclable and compostable packaging is beginning to be the new normal so there are really no excuses as to why your business can’t take advantage of this current and future surge of the ready meal market.
