Saudi Arabia Ready-to-Cook Food Market Research Report: Forecast (2023-2028)

Market Definition

The Ready-to-Cook meal has all the ingredients premixed into it, they only need to be heated or cooked at the final stage to be served. For the final cooking or preparation, a procedure is mentioned on the package, and that exact process is to be followed so that the food is completely cooked without any chances of contamination.

Market Insights & Analysis: Saudi Arabia Ready-to-Cook Food Market (2023-28)

The Saudi Arabia Ready-to-Cook Food market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 5.83% during the forecast period, i.e., 2023-28, owing to the rising consumption of Ready-to-Cook foods such as frozen vegetables, sea foods, soups, snacks, etc. The quick & easy nature of these foods allows consumers to cook them quickly. Apart from this, there have been other significant factors driving consumer demand for Ready-to-Cook food, such as the presence of natural ingredients in sauces & soups, ready-to-mix items, and various others.

Moreover, in Saudi Arabia, the demand for these food items has risen dramatically among young consumers as they are pleasant in taste and have flavors based on their preferences. As a result, the Saudi Arabian market has witnessed an uptick in noodles, various types of pasta, and other Ready-to-Cook food items. The emerging number of working women in Saudi Arabia has also had a positive impact on Saudi Arabia Ready-to-Cook Food market size.

Ready-to-Cook food products, which require only a few minutes to heat & serve, have been regarded as the best alternatives to traditional cooking. These food items attracted a large number of female customers in Saudi Arabia due to their benefits. According to the World Bank, the population of the female labor force in Saudi Arabia rose from 18.2% to 20.9% from 2019 to 2020.

Thus, the growing number of working women population, along with the rising propensity of young consumers towards Ready-to-Cook food products such as sauces, soups, noodles, etc., is predicted to amplify the growth of the market during the forthcoming period.       

Market Dynamics:

Key Trends: Launch of Frozen Food in many Varieties to Attract New Customers

The rising consumption of Ready-to-Cook food items in Saudi Arabia has intended companies to launch a variety of frozen foods such as minced meat, sausages, etc. For instance, in 2022, Brazilian food brand Seara launched 120 halal frozen food products across Saudi Arabia, including the food items such as meatballs, frozen seafood, vegetables, etc. The new range of products aimed to attract a new customer base that wants to consume halal food.

Hence, the growing consumption of a variety of Ready-to-Cook food products is expected to encourage companies to launch more of these food products, thereby positively impacting the market in the forecast year.

Key Driver: Inclination of Millennial Customers Towards Ready-to-Cook Food Products

In Saudi Arabia, millennial customers have been increasingly adopting Ready-to-Cook food products such as pasta, noodles, frozen fries, frozen meatballs, etc., as working-class individuals in the country have been looking for readily available pre-cooked food items due to their busy lifestyles. The working class is the largest consumer of these meals due to their busy lifestyle, hence, the rise in the number of working professionals would elevate the consumption of Ready-to-Cook meals.

Along with this, the demand for Ready-to-Cook food products has been propagated during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the government of Saudi Arabia restricted outdoor movements. This inclined millennial customers to consume these food items, such as frozen food items, ready-to-mix, and others, during their work-from-home period.

Nonetheless, even after COVID-19, the trend of consuming these food items has consistently grown, as consumers in Saudi Arabia have gradually shifted towards these food products due to their numerous benefits. As a result, it is expected that the growing adoption of Ready-to-Cook food products by millennial customers will positively influence the growth of these food items in the upcoming years.            

Possible Restraint: Health Concerns Among Individuals to Restrict the Market Growth

The population in Saudi Arabia has been majorly suffering from various health concerns such as diabetes, obesity, etc. Owing to this, some consumers are restricting themselves from consuming Ready-to-Cook food items, as they contain too many vegetable oils, such as canola, sunflower, corn, cottonseed oil, etc., which contain unhealthy polyunsaturated fatty acids. They also contain too many chemicals, such as artificial flavors, sucralose, etc.

Therefore, due to the presence of such additives in these food items, consumers suffering from obesity, heart diseases, etc., are restricting themselves towards their consumption, limiting the growth of the Saudi Arabia Ready-to-Cook Food market in the forthcoming years.

Growth Opportunity: Massive Investments in Poultry Meat Production to Uplift the Market Growth

Due to the rising demand for meat products in Saudi Arabia, the government has been massively investing in expanding poultry meat production facilities in the country. For instance, in 2022, the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture of Saudi Arabia announced investments of nearly USD4.5 billion in establishing poultry meat production units by 2025 to reduce its meat import dependency from other countries.

Thus, the establishment of new poultry meat production facilities in the country would further fulfill the demand for raw materials like chicken meat, etc., to the company’s manufacturing of Ready-to-Cook food products, thereby magnifying the growth of the market during 2023-2028. 

Market Segmentation

Based on the Product Type:

• Frozen
  • Meat & Poultry
  • Vegetables
  • Others (Fries, Sweet Corn, Paratha, etc.)
• Ambient
  • Soups & Sauces
  • Noodles & Pasta
  • Ready-to-Mix
  • Others (Snacks, etc.)

As the country has always been known for its large-scale consumption of meat products, Frozen ready to eat food products constituted a significant share of the overall Saudi Arabia Ready-to-Cook Food market over the previous period. In line with this, the uprising trend of consuming halal ready-to-eat frozen food products has been upscaling the market growth.

Further, the innovative & variety of frozen food products such as marinated chicken tandoori, chicken fresh marinated shawarma, chicken drumsticks, etc., offered by the manufacturers like Al Kabeer Group ME, Almunajem Food, Tanmiah Food, etc., have been captivating large number of customers in Saudi Arabia to opt for their products.

Furthermore, the demand for Ambient Ready-to-Cook food products such as soups & sauces, cereals, ready-to-mix, and others has been ramping up in conjunction with its high consumption among working-class individuals who have less time to prepare meals after work hours.

Therefore, owing to the growing demand for frozen ready-to-eat food products coupled with the expanding consumption of soups, cereals, and sauces among working-class individuals is estimated to support the market growth in the coming years. 

Based on the Sales Channel:

• Online
• Offline
  • Conventional Retail Outlets
  • Hypermarket & Supermarket
  • Other Retail Channels

In recent years, e-commerce platforms in Saudi Arabia, such as Carrefour, Lulu Hypermarket, and others, have seen a significant spike in demand for these food products. Customers have been drawn to the availability of a wide range of Ready-to-Cook products on online sales platforms. Online sales channels' instant doorstep delivery of Ready-to-Cook food items has aided market growth. This sales channel offers an individual to easily compare products & price ranges, thereby enhancing sales through online retail channels.

It is an increasingly viable sales channel in Saudi Arabia and is persistently expanding across the country. Owing to this, the demand for Ready-to-Cook food items are expected to foresee significant demand from online sales channel from 2023 to 2028, thus accelerating the growth of the market.    

By End User:

• B2C

• Individual Users

• B2B

• Hotels & Restaurants
• Others (Military, etc.)

B2C end-user dominates the market as the Ready-to-Cook nature of the food provides more convenience to individuals who have an active lifestyle. Apart from it, the consumption of this food surged among households & individual users because of the temporary closure of markets & restrictions due to the COVID-induced lockdown. Further, individuals were working in Work from Home mode, due to which they had very little time to prepare food in the conventional method, thereby enhancing the sales of Ready-to-Cook food among individuals.

For the upcoming years as well, the same demand pattern is expected because of the constantly growing working women population in the country. Furthermore, consumers' preference for halal frozen food is another major factor causing the demand for Ready-to-Cook meals to rise during the coming period.

Recent Development by the Leading Companies

• 2023: Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting entered into a partnership with the Nirapara, to expand its Ready-to-Cook food segment in the GCC countries, which also includes the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This food segments includes a wide range of spices & South Indian cuisine like Idli, Dosa, Puttu, etc. The move was taken considering a large number of South Indian expatriate residing in Saudi Arabia and their preference to consume the authentic South Indian Food.

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