Market Trends of Saudi Arabia Ready Meals Industry
Increased Demand for Convenience Food Products
Convenience food requires minimum or no further preparation before consumption. This category includes canned food, packaged food or meals, frozen food, preserved food, and instant products. Frozen food holds a considerable share in this segment. The increasing workforce participation in Saudi Arabia and changing lifestyles are likely to drive the Saudi Arabian market for ready meals over the forecast period. A diverse urban landscape is driving the demand for convenient, ready-to-eat, processed, preserved, and frozen foods in the country, which are shelf-stable and do not require refrigeration. Rio Mare remained the leading brand in providing shelf-stable ready meals due to its strong presence and widely recognized products. Households' demand for convenience foods is being influenced by rising disposable income. Quick-service restaurants are rapidly growing worldwide, driving the need for convenience meals. Thus, consumer inclination toward convenience food items may help boost the market for ready meals in the Saudi Arabian region. On the other hand, increasing government efforts to reduce the risk of nutrition-related ailments, such as obesity and overweight, diabetes, hypertension, anemia, and vitamin D deficiency, may influence the changing consumption patterns. These concerns may also affect the per capita spending in specific food categories, thus assisting the growth of nutrition-based ready meals over the coming years.
Frozen Ready Meals are in High Demand
Ready-to-eat food retail outlets are scarce in the Saudi market, but they are increasing, especially in Jeddah and Riyadh. Consumers are inclined toward consuming frozen ready meals, mainly due to the ease of preparation, low nutrition loss, and the extended product life of meat-based ready meal products, which are gaining popularity across several consumer marketplaces. For instance, according to the consumer behavior study conducted by Siwar Foods, a Saudi-based FMCG company, 80% of consumers in the country are open to purchasing frozen food, with taste, variety, quality, and affordability as the most important drivers of choice. For instance, in August 2022, Brazilian food brand Seara launched its new products across Saudi Arabia by introducing its high-quality range of frozen foods in the Kingdom. Further, the company claims that Seara found its complete halal portfolio comprising 120 frozen food products, including products such as Seara Shawaya Chicken Marinated Kabsa, Seara Shawaya Chicken Marinated Hot Curry, Seara Shawaya Chicken Marinated Italian, among others.
