Burning Love for Frozen Food

© dti / Rees

© dti / Rees

© dti / Rees

© dti

© dti

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6 March 1930 marks the birth of frozen food: In the USA food was available for purchase in a frozen state for the first time. Today, daily life can no longer be imagined without frozen products and the industry has posted continuous growth ever since. The market is characterised by accomplishments in sustainability and novel packaging formats.

American marine biologist Clarence Birdseye is credited with the invention of frozen food. While visiting New Zealand he observed the Inuit freezing their principal food - fish - to conserve it. They simply hung their fresh catch in the icy, up to 45-degree cold wind and it was frozen in no time. This way the foodstuffs remained fresh and could be kept throughout the winter. Based on this observation he developed the first facilities for freezing food and exactly 80 years ago the first products were available in Massachusetts, USA. Retailers initially used existing ice-cream cabinets. In Europe deep-frozen products were only introduced onto the market in the 1950s.

FF Consumption: Topped by the USA

At that time the per-capita consumption of frozen food in the US was already as high as 16 kg per year. In Germany it took a little longer for consumers to take an interest in frozen products. In 1960 German citizens bought an average of approximately 400 g. In 2009 this figure had risen to 40 kilograms.
The per-capita consumption of frozen food - excluding ice-cream - stood at 51.8 kg in the USA in 2009. This means US citizens are No.1 when it comes to consuming frozen foodstuffs compared to selected countries. Their Canadian neighbours only consumed 35.5 kg on average. In Europe Brits, in particular, are partial to frozen food. Already in 2006 they consumed 44.7 kg per capita. However, frozen products are also becoming more and more popular in Southern European countries. In Spain consumption rose to 31.9 kg in 2006 - roughly ten kilos more than in 2001. In Italy per-capita consumption even rose to 16 kg, i.e. an increase of over four kilos. Reasons for the global rise in demand are primarily a decline in the number of food stores, the improved technical equipment available for frozen food retail departments, the growing number of working women as well as the rising number of single households in western countries.

Products from the frozen food chain rank at the very top of shopping lists - both for decision-makers in the eating-out industry and for private households. Professional chefs appreciate not only the quality, taste and assured hygiene but also the costing and pricing benefits of frozen food. Catering at meetings and congresses, in particular, is scarcely feasible any longer without frozen food. Add to this more and more "special requests" voiced by food service customers, which could only be fulfilled to a limited extent without the wide frozen food ranges. Likewise, consumer demands on quality have increased enormously over the past few years – in parallel with the wellness and organic trend. The quality of frozen products has improved constantly over the past 20 years and often reaches 100% flawless standards today.
A pivotal role is played here by proper packaging: it protects the frozen product from drying out, micro-organisms and other adverse external impacts. Furthermore, it serves to list all relevant product information. In most countries frozen food may only be offered pre-packed.
This is why many dishes from the freezer can, once cooked, no longer be distinguished from freshly prepared food. Frozen products ideally fulfil consumer needs for convenience plus freshness.

Fresher than Fresh

The bestselling frozen foods include pizza. Fish and vegetable in a frozen state are also considered "fresher than fresh". They are frozen immediately after being caught and/or harvested and therefore also ensure hygiene and safety. The choice of frozen fish is very wide today and many fish and seafood specialities could not even reach many European countries in a fresh state in any other way.
Needless to say, the international frozen food industry has also realised that there is more to sustainability. The German Frozen Food Institute (dti e.V.) recently launched a pilot project in the field of "Climate Protection and Frozen Food". Initial results showed that frozen food fares just as well as canned, chilled or home-prepared food in terms of climate compatibility even when considering the entire value chain.

Bestseller: Pizza

Frozen pizza boasts a very special success story. It started its triumphant march in Italy, then conquered the USA and from there returned to the other European countries. In the late 1960s frozen pizza was produced on an industrial scale and in large quantities for the first time in Europe. The customary packaging format used to be handy aluminium baking tins. Other manufacturers soon followed and the business boomed. In parallel with this an entirely new manufacturing technology had to be developed - the first fully automatic pizza production - from dough preparation and topping to packaging - came into being. Today, multi-functional lines with innovative spreading, filling and topping systems fulfil the tasks involved in producing and packaging these dearly loved bestsellers.
These days innumerable pizza varieties in any conceivable size fill supermarket frozen food departments. The bofrost company that serves to the tune of 4 million consumers through 232 subsidiaries in 12 European countries delivering frozen products right to their doorstep, recently introduced a new packaging format for frozen pizza: in five new varieties the pizza produced in Italy will now be delivered in plastic bags - rather than in shrink wrap and the usual carton box. Each bag contains two pizzas per variety and is designed to take up less space - especially in smaller homes with lower freezing capacities