Today we are living in a very fast-paced life, people are ambitious and career-oriented, families have both the members (husband and wife) working and with more and more households experiencing two-parent income, it makes meal time harder than ever to get together.
Now, with more moms working outside of the home, there is simply not enough time to prepare meals. The previous generation of Indian women would customarily be the homemakers who took care of preparing these meals; this is no longer the case today.
Further, our ways of cooking have changed since more households are experiencing drastic change in eating habits, and meals need to be prepared as quickly and conveniently as possible in order to keep up with the pace of life.
Pre-packaged items
This is where fast food has begun to fill the gap. More and more people now are dependent on fast foods or convenience food as well as pre-packaged items to help them facilitate their day to day activity.
Products designated as convenience foods are often prepared food stuffs that are sold as hot, ready-to-eat dishes; as room-temperature, shelf-stable products; or as refrigerated or frozen products that require minimal preparation. These products are often sold in portion controlled, single serve packaging designed for portability. Then there are some packaged mixes which require some preparation and cooking either in the oven or on the stove top.
Other reasons
There are various other reasons which have gradually resulted in the rise of convenience food in the country. These are
On-The-Go Lifestyle: On-the-go lifestyles have emerged as a result of several factors, longer working hours, longer commuting times, and a wider range of leisure activities, thus a family is less inclined to spend what valuable time it has on preparing food. The main consequence of this has been an increased incidence of snacking during the day and rising out-of-home consumption as well as a greater reliance on ready-prepared foods in the evening.
Mall Culture or Supermarkets: It is being evident in most of the tier I and tier II cities where a consumer can easily get all the household items, be it vegetables, fruits or groceries from same place, thus saving time and energy of not visiting three or four vendors to buy daily ration. These supermarkets are also creating an environment of impulsive buying where most of the convenience foods packed in their full splendour and tagged with hot offers lure the customers to try them.
The demand for convenience food has increased manifold in past 2 years, according to a survey conducted by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). The survey indicates annual growth of about 40-60% between 2011 and the end of 2015 for the convenience and ready-to-eat food segments. Growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 15 to 20 per cent annually, the Indian packaged food industry is likely to touch $30 billion by 2015 from the current level of $15 billion including snack foods, ready-to-eat foods, healthy and functional foods.
One of the main reasons of the growth of convenience food is the packaging that comes with it and it serves a very important role to market processed food products. Although primarily, function of food packaging is to protect the quality and freshness of the product in addition to convenience and safety, but it also has to provide and enhance the merchandising value for the product when displayed in the retail shelf.
Two options
Earlier, the industry had only two options in food packaging i.e. glass and tin. While glass keeps product better but there were chances of breakage while tin containers were having problems of leaching out of metal into the product. The major thing that is happening in the packaging industry now is the introduction of retortable pouch.
The packaging systems are now being designed keeping environmental aspects in mind and there are eco-friendly packaging materials in the market that are recyclable and biodegradable.
Further, packaging systems are designed keeping storage aspects in mind and therefore we have zipper pack in the market, which is re-closable after opening up the pack. There are also composite containers with foil lining to keep the product fresh inside, which can replace conventional tin containers in the market.
The latest development is that products now are introduced with edible packaging material. There is ice cream cone, which is edible. Polymerised starch and cellulose-based edible packaging material are also new advents in the industry.
Key players in packaged foods market
- Hindustan Unilever Ltd: Beverages; staples; dairy; snacks
- ITC: Staples and snacks
- Nestle: Dairy; beverages and snacks
- PepsiCo: Beverages and snacks
- Dabur: Beverages and culinary products
- Cadbury: Confectionery
- Haldiram's: Snacks
- Britannia: Bakery Products
- Godrej: Beverages and staples
- Parle Agro: Beverages, bottled water and snacks
Advantages, disadvantages
Packaged or convenience food has got both advantages and disadvantages associated with it.
Modern production techniques and preservation methods minimise nutritional loss of precooked products, thus providing the consumer with consumers exact nutrients required. Packaged food contains preservative that increase the life span and shelf life of food items and thus make for an ideal meal option for people with fast-paced lives.
There are also certain disadvantages with regard to convenience food. Several critics have cited the environmental harm of single serve packaging due to the increased usage of plastics that contributes to solid waste in landfills. Packaged foods does not just contribute to waste, it contributes to an entire infrastructure that does not support local farmers, encourages us to overeat and leads to obesity and is destroying our environment by continuing a process that is fuelled by deforestation. According to a page on the website of the Cleveland Clinic: "Most convenience foods on the market today are laden with saturated fats, sodium and sugar and provide little to no nutritional value. The more processed food we eat, the further we are distanced from the food’s source.”
Although convenience food has managed to carve its place in our daily lifestyle with its glamorous packaging, super hot offers and bolt pace preparation time, it still leaves certain important area untouched, the nutrition value of these food stuffs and the sustainability to the farmers are still problems to which we have to return.
