the ready to eat meals market | France

Ready meals are dishes that only need to be heated, or poorly prepared, before being consumed. They can be found in different formats: canned, vacuum-packed or frozen. These ready-to-eat products are distributed in mass stores or small local stores and allow to eat easily, avoiding concerns related to home cooking.

Today we are witnessing a quantitative and qualitative diversification of recipes - and of the ingredients used - in order to satisfy new market segments that focus on quality requirements. The production chain also tends to be more complex, with distributors starting to manufacture their own products and with the emergence of these young companies producing ready-made meals, in an attempt to stir the established hierarchy.

The ready meals market is very dynamic in the world and in France it has grown by nearly +4% over the 2013-2018 period - reaching 4% of the world market. There is a threat around ready meals, which are considered unhealthy by part of the population, and the market will have to overcome this vision to continue to evolve.