The market for ready meals in Germany

Ready meals are products that can be consumed quickly and are used in consumer households as well as in the catering and communal catering sectors. Ready meals are meals or partially prepared meals that are industrially prefabricated and only need to be reheated or prepared before consumption. They consist of various ingredients from different food groups and are marketed as chilled fresh, frozen, canned or dry products. Ready-to-eat meals are mostly available as pre-packaged goods[Bayrisches Landesamt].

These ready-to-eat products are sold in supermarkets or small local stores and allow workers or families to eat easily without having to worry about cooking at home.

There is now a diversification of recipes - quantitative and qualitative - and of foods used - meat, vegetables, seafood, fish - to meet new market segments with higher quality demands, especially after the scandals that hit the market in 2013 with the horsemeat fraud in lasagna.

The production chain is also tending to become more complex as retailers start to produce their own products and with the emergence of these young ready meal manufacturers who are trying to challenge the control of some large companies.

The global prepared foods market is growing and, according to experts, will grow at an average rate of about 4.2% per year between 2023 and 2030[datamintelligence].

Between 2010 and 2021, the market in Germany grew steadily at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9%. Particularly striking is a high market growth between 2021 and 2022 in the amount of 26.4%, which can be justified with the baseline restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic[Statistisches Bundesamt].

The following market study deals with trends of the market and typology of the consumer. In addition, the market structure and the competition on the market are analyzed in order to be able to draw insightful conclusions.