Samples of bread and bakery found hazardous in Delhi

With more and more people choosing to stay out of home and working, there is a continuous rise of ready to eat and pre-cooked meals.  

According to a latest research by Velocity MR, a leading market research and analysis company, RTE consumption was highest among the employed consumers and in the age group of 26-45. The study also observed that the RTE consumption is higher among the female respondents in these metros, as compared to the male respondents.

Most respondents confirmed that they preferred consuming RTEs in the form of snacks and the preference for vegetarian RTE foods was higher that the non-vegetarian RTE’s. While most respondents claimed that they like to consume RTE as and when required, the average consumption rate of RTE’s was observed to be fortnightly. Brands like Maggi, Knorr, Amul, Chings and MTR topped the list of most preferred RTE brands.

“It is no surprise that the Ready-to-Eat market has been witnessing a steady growth in recent years. While consumers generally tend to prioritize healthy, home cooked meals over the convenience, counter food products; a large section of Indian consumers prefer Ready-to-Eat products, owing to their busy schedules and hectic lifestyle,” shared Jasal Shah, Managing Director & CEO of Velocity MR.

The top three contributing factors to the growth of the RTE segment are time-saving (72%), good taste (62%) and convenient cooking (60%). These factors and the growing working women population, also justify the higher number of women respondents preferring RTE, when compared to their male counterparts. This can also be seen as one of the driving forces behind most of the “health-food” category players venturing into the Ready-to-eat segment.”

The study was conducted among a sample size of 2000 respondents and covered prominent Indian metros including Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Pune.

Highlights of the Study: 

• 1 in every 3 consumers have consumed some form of Heat & Eat / RTE product in the past week
• Females consume RTE more than males in metros
• Snacks and Soups form the key consumed Heat & Eat / RTE products in both Veg and Non-Veg segments
• French fries, the most consumed snack is had by less than 70% of the consumers
• Chicken Nuggets, the most preferred non-veg snack is consumed by about 50% of the consumers
• Time saving and convenience of cooking are the two most sought-after benefits from RTE segment. Over 50% consumers also prefer it for the variety of items offered
• Maggi, Knorr, Amul, MTR and Chings are the most preferred brands in both Veg and Non-veg segments at an overall level, even though their penetration varies in different cities
• Some local flavors are also popular like:
  • Delight Foods & MOM- Meal of the moment in Mumbai
  • AL Fez in Kolkata
  • Delight foods, Batchelors, Betty Corner in Pune
  • Mother’s Recipe and Real Thai in Bangalore

In last few years India has seen a rise in the market for Organic food products. Lots of cold pressed juice, organic tea and herb based product companies have made a way into the Indian market. Organic packaged food and beverages is an emerging niche market in India and its primary consumers are high-income urbanites. As demand for organic food in the metro cities increase, the companies in this sector are witnessing notable growth with the entry of several new players in the organic food market.

“The market size for Indian organic packaged food is expected to cross INR 871 million by 2021 from INR 533 million in 2016, growing at a rate of 17 per cent,” says ASSOCHAM-EY report released yesterday.  

The substantial growth of this sector is attributed to an expanding urban population base, rising health concerns, growing consumer spending on food products and deterioration of food quality. These four primary factors are also driving the global organic food market, the joint study mentioned.

“In addition to the growing domestic market, India is the second largest exporter of organic products in Asia after China. The increasing export market coupled with the Government’s support has made organic cultivation in India highly successful,” shares  Amit Vatsyayan, Partner, EY. Indian organic food exports were estimated at US$299 million during 2015-16 with total volume of 263,688 MT.

India-based Sresta Natural Bioproducts Pvt. Ltd. has emerged as the market leader, with 37% value share of the packaged organic food market and 7.8% share of the packaged organic beverage market. It has increased its share in the organic food market in recent years, while smaller niche players have taken significant share away from it in the organic beverage market, adds the study.

The major export destinations were the US, European Union, Canada and New Zealand. It is assumed that most of the remaining quantity is sold in local markets. Oilseeds comprised half of India’s overall organic food export, followed by processed food products at 25%.

According to ASSOCHAM-EY study, India currently holds the ninth position among 178 countries that actively practice organic agriculture. At present, the country is home to more than 835,000 organic producers, 699 processors, 669 exporters and 1.49 million ha area under organic cultivation. However, with only a meagre 0.4% of the total agricultural land area designated for organic cultivation, the industry presents extensive scope for expansion.

Pinakiranjan Mishra, Partner and National Leader, Consumer Products and Retail, EY, says, “With Indian consumers’ increased inclination and awareness towards health and nutrition, the outlook for organic products in India has been very positive. Consumers are today acceptingorganic food and beverages as part of their daily diet, thereby, creating significant growth opportunities for existing as well as new industry players in this segment. With the participation of numerous Indian and multinational companies and their expansion in the market, India is rapidly becoming a production hub for organic foods.”

India has a remarkable potential to produce all varieties of organic products, owing to the existence of various agro climatic zones within its borders. The total area under organic certification was 5.71 million ha in 2015-16. This included 26% cultivable area with 1.49 million ha and 74% (4.22 million ha) forest and wild area for collection of minor forest produce.

Among the states, Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under organic certification (4.62 lakh ha) followed by, Maharashtra (1.98 lakh ha) Rajasthan (1.55 lakh ha), Telangana (1.04 lakh ha), Odisha (0.96 lakh ha), Karnataka (0.94 lakh ha), Gujarat (0.77 lakh ha) and Sikkim (0.76 lakh ha). These states had a combined share of 90% of the area under organic certification in 2015-16, highlighted the study.

In terms of organic crops, the combined share of the top 10 categories of organic food crops is around 99%. The top four categories (with a share of around 85%) include sugar, oilseed, fiber and cereals and millets.

“According to our findings, metropolitan cities have witnessed a 95% increase in demand in the last five years,” adds Vatsyayan. “Many organic food companies are adopting the online route to expand their consumer base. The brick and mortar organic stores are usually located in metro and mini metro cities. These companies are reaching out to the rest of the consumers through online channels,” he further mentioned.

With increasing incidence of health problems such as diabetes, anxiety and stress plaguing urban India, many entrepreneurs are venturing into the area of organic café and marketplace.

India’s food system needs substantial public investments to expand and increase the quality of storage, handling and transportation infrastructure.

According to a report published by The prestigious Chicago Council on Global Affairs, India’s food system is largely unorganised and highly fragmented.

The report also underlines that the country must reform government procurement, tariff and tax policies affecting urban food delivery to feed its growing cities.

It also recommends ways to reduce regulatory complexity and enhance food testing capacity.

To improve the supply system, the paper further identifies areas of improvement in transit, warehousing, cold chains, retail and processing that could improve urban food security in India.

"The scale of food and nutrition needed to sustain that is hard to fathom and India's food system is already failing to deliver food security for all," said Alesha Black, Director of the Council's Global Food and Agriculture Programme.

"Now imagine when that population doubles in the next 40 years. India has to transform its food system to feed that urban growth," he said.

The report argues that the food system in India must transform to feed its growing cities.

Increasing urban employment and rising incomes portend significant growth for India's $360 billion food market.

Yet substantial public and private investments, as well as key regulatory reforms, are needed to update India's unorganised, fragmented food system, it said.

"There is no more fundamental measure of the well-being of a population than its food and nutrition security," Durkin said.

"India must make targeted public investments and create a path for the private sector to improve the state of urban nutrition and meet growing demand for food in India's cities," said the report.

Global alcoholic drinks volumes registered a decline of 0.7 percent in 2015, entering negative territory for the first time in more than a decade, shared research released by Euromonitor International

This translated into a loss of 1.7 billion litres of alcoholic drinks volume sales since 2014.

Historic growth narratives derailed due to the influence of macro headwinds hitting China, which recorded a 3.5 percent decline.

Brazil and Eastern Europe showed further weaknesses, falling 2.5 and 4.9 percent, respectively. While Western Europe and Australasia flatlined, North America’s 2.3 percent growth provided a shot of optimism in an otherwise sobering global landscape where even the potential of AMEA (Asia, Middle East and Africa) was diluted by currency volatility and commodity price fluctuations.

“While terms such as authenticity and craftsmanship are losing traction, the trajectories of sophistication, moderation, perceived exotic credentials, accessibility and restrained yet grounded aspirational attributes remain the key driving forces fuelling pockets of buoyancy,” shared Spiros Malandrakis, Senior Alcoholic Drinks Analyst.

Beyond those star performers, tequila and bourbon remained solid, while cognac bounced back strongly. Cider performed well but has softened as Americans move to hard sodadrinks. Rum and vodka find themselves amongst the worst performers, while still light white and red wine varietals join sparkling wines back to healthy levels.

“Premium English gin, Irish and Japanese whiskey, dark and non-alcoholic beer are the flag bearers of growth and it is no coincidence that those also happen to be the segments gaining further momentum with the ever important millennial demographic in mature western markets,” added Malandrakis.

“While initial forecasts suggest a gradual recovery from 2016, performance will remain substandard compared to historical trajectories. It is not the industry’s vision that is impaired but rather the horizon that can be treacherous.” Malandrakis concluded.