The rise and rise of ready meals

With their roots in 1950s America, ready meals are a supermarket staple on both sides of the Atlantic, representing a billion-pound industry. In 2021, the global market size was valued at $143.86bn. It is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 5.1%, reaching a whopping $225.28bn by 2030. As a category, it has been particularly successful at weathering periods of economic instability. In the UK, for example, while inflation and the cost-of-living crisis nudged volume sales down in 2022, the retail value of ready meals still experienced steady growth.

From humble beginnings…

At Equator, where we regularly work with retailers on ready-meal ranges across the chilled and frozen aisles, we’re fascinated by the continued innovation within this lively category. After all, ready meals have come a long way since US food company Swansons brought them into people’s living rooms as ‘TV dinners’ – a nifty solution to a post-Thanksgiving turkey surplus in 1953 (Swansons took inspiration from airlines, presenting the meat in aluminium trays alongside the other elements of what we would call a Sunday roast!).

Since then, ready meals have overcome several image problems. Adverts targeting single men in the 1980s (in response to growing divorce rates) inadvertently helped to create an association between ready meals and loneliness, while nutritionists and scientists have frequently voiced concerns about their impact on public health. Retailers have had to be innovative in order to overcome these issues, making ready meals healthier, tastier and more convenient than ever.

Global flavours, local ingredients

“There’s nothing second-choice about buying ready meals anymore,” said our Senior Creative Director, Glyn Robinson, when we asked him about how the category has evolved. “I can remember when they were limited to lasagne or chilli con carne, but now people look to ready meals for exciting global flavours. If you’re a bit time poor or you lack the confidence, they are a nice invitation for you to enjoy those authentic, adventurous flavours in a convenient way. And retailers are responding to consumer interest in locally sourced products, so you often get this lovely marriage of global flavours and British ingredients.”

As the variety of ready meals has increased, packaging has had to work hard to differentiate each product, emphasising its authenticity. “It used to be that, if you had a Chinese dish, the packaging would inevitably have a dragon on it. I call it cartoon food,” said Glyn. “From a design aesthetic perspective, it’s become a lot more intelligent than that now. When we redesigned the Co-op’s ready meal range, for example, we avoided ‘expected’ cues, opting for subtle touches; a soft, almost out of focus pattern with these lovely purple tones for the Indian ready meals, like the wallpaper in the background of your favourite restaurant.”

Colour and typography can be powerful tools when it comes to conveying the flavour profiles of globally inspired ready meals. The bright packaging we used for the launch of Morrisons’ ‘Tastes of the World’ range, for example, captures the essence of each cuisine in a graphical way, with bold colour combinations and punchy fonts conveying the vibrant flavours of each meal and overhead photography depicting them served up and ready to eat. It’s a far cry from the predicable, ‘cartoon food’ approach used in years gone by.

The power of plant-based

While popularity of world flavours has certainly driven innovation within the category, there are also several other trends pushing product and packaging development. Health is one of them, with an increasing number of consumers seeking ingredients that offer health benefits. Alternative proteins (i.e. proteins not derived from animals) are hugely popular, with plant-based product launches disrupting the market.

“I see the plant-based ready meals as renegades in the category,” said Creative Director Nathan Ball. “When they came on the scene, they had to forge their own way to make a difference. They shook things up with bold, bolshy packaging and instant messaging, talking to the consumer and making it all relatable, while at the same time capturing flavour and taste appeal. Supermarkets are trying to tap into that and take inspiration from it.”

Seeking sustainability

The plant-based push isn’t just about consumer health either. It’s also about the health of the planet. The European Public Health Alliance recently released a report on prepared foods, which found that, by making ready meals more sustainable, the EU could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a staggering 48 million tonnes annually. This is certainly an area for retailers to focus on, especially as consumers from younger generations continue to use sustainability as a differentiator when making purchasing decisions.

“Many of our clients are already making progress in this area, reducing the amount of card they use for their ready meals and looking at alternatives for the trays,” said Glyn. “It can be more of a challenge when you’ve got less space for design – a half sleeve instead of a full sleeve, for example – but we enjoy the challenge. When you’re restricted in some way, you’re forced to think differently, and that can lead to some really creative, exciting ideas.”

Ready meals have travelled a long way from 1950s TV dinner infamy to become the globally inspired delights we enjoy today, shedding their image as bland meat-and-two-veg meals to become instigators of adventure, opening up a world of global flavours to curious shoppers keen to eat their way around the world. As they continue to evolve, consumer preference will lead the way, with sustainability set to carve the path.

Looking to launch a new range or breathe new life into an existing one? At Equator, we help brands and retailers create packaging that captures attention, leveraging consumer trends and market insights to create competitive advantage. To discuss how we can work together to bring your vision to life, get in touch today.