Dosa to cake: ‘Ready to prepare dinner’ meals heat up

NEW DELHI: Convenience guidelines and customers are actually reaching for ready-to-cook (RTC) meals greater than ever earlier than. Interestingly, RTC is the one class in packaged meals that has doubled in quantity over the past two years, with an extra 18 million households leaping on board.While packaged meals witnessed single-digit development of almost 8%, RTC class recorded 58% enhance in 2024, in accordance to the newest knowledge from Kantar Worldpanel.

From dosa batters to curry and cake mixes, customers should not solely embracing ease, however have doubled their annual journeys to buy the class. Urbanisation, the rise of dual-income households and a busy evolving way of life is driving the development.Even as RTC has surged, its cousin class, Ready-to-eat (RTE) meals, is shortly shedding relevance. RTE, which incorporates merchandise that may be served straight from the pack, (akin to, heat and eat pulaos, heat and eat curries, the place the packaged meals simply wants to be warmed earlier than consuming) has misplaced half its quantity up to now two years.This underscores a better curiosity in the direction of semi-cooked choices that provide comfort with out compromising the home-cooked expertise, in contrast to absolutely cooked meal choices, Okay Ramakrishnan, MD, South Asia, worldpanel division, Kantar informed TOI. “Convenience is king, but the landscape is evolving. Consumers want speed, but they also crave freshness, health, and control over their meals. Brands that innovate along these lines stand poised to capture the next wave of growth,”he added.Capitalising on the trend, packaged food companies are expanding their offerings.Ashu Phakey, VP and business head – frozen and fresh foods at ITC, said “There has been substantial development within the total RTC class in the previous few years, given the heightened demand. In addition, the current rise of fast commerce has boosted accessibility. In the previous few years, we’ve got seen Indian customers more and more add RTC merchandise of their grocery basket. There are a number of components, that are driving class traction akin to, enhance in disposable revenue, comfort, accessibility and innovation within the product portfolio. Also, customers favor shopping for RTC because it additionally cues contemporary meals made at dwelling”.Just a few years in the past, the comfort class made up a mere 5% of the packaged meals phase. Today, that share has climbed to 8%, a gradual however vital enlargement that displays their rising foothold. Rajiv Kumar, vice chairman, Dharampal Satyapal Group mentioned: “We have been present in the gourmet, ready-to-cook gravies segment since late 2023. These products tend to be more popular, as they cater to the consumer’s desire to feel involved in the cooking process.”