COVID-19 Ingredion Regional Insights Series - Convenience

At the end of 2019 no one forecasted Covid-19 and since then many countries have experienced some form of panic grocery buying and changes in the foodservice channel. As your partner, we tasked ourselves to look at how the dominant trends would play out in the post panic stage. Would trends be paused, become irrelevant or hastened?

We identified key ideas per trend that you can tap into for growth. If you are keen to know what solutions Ingredion can offer and how we can help shorten your development time, speak with our team today.

Convenience at Home

Many countries around the world have urged or mandated individuals to stay home and practice social distancing. After the panic, individuals have gotten better at planning and consider how soon food will spoil versus their family’s pattern for consumption given the limited space in the refrigerator. While many convenient foods are affected during the pandemic, we share five that will continue to demonstrate the trend today and in the future. 

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Ambient Yoghurt

Traditionally, yoghurt is a chilled snack but the emergence of ambient yoghurt has turned old truths on their head.  Ambient yoghurt offers similar macronutrient benefit as chilled yoghurt with comparable taste. With no need for refrigeration, Asian cultures or older population who eschew cold food and beverage will warm up to this convenient, nutritious and tasty meal-in-one.

If you are concerned about the sweetness required to delight consumers, come speak with us about the natural options available.

Ambient Ice Cream

Isolation can lead to despair and this is aggravated by 24-hour news feeds fixated on counting deaths. Against this backdrop, indulgence helps to maintain one’s mental wellbeing. In China, ice cream enjoyed 18% growth in the first two weeks of the outbreak and accelerated +37% in the next fortnight, outshining FMCG Food and Snacking. However, as refrigerator space is limited with the restriction of movement out of home, ambient ice creams will enable anytime indulgence.

Frozen Ready-to-Eat Meals

It is difficult for trendsetters and explorers to leave their homes or they may be more prudent for health reasons than before, however their desire for elaborate meals and lifestyles remain. With limited cooking skills and proliferation of video group chats like zoom, microwaveable meals befitting the ‘gram and their standard for taste will keep them satisfied.

Frozen Dumplings

Paying homage to after office snacks with colleagues or an exotic presentation of meat at home, frozen dumplings are a convenient go-to treat at home. These goodies come with a twist to stand differentiated over time.

Canned Meat

While meat forms a larger portion of Asian diets than before, so have incidences of animal related food crisis been on the rise. Consumers in China may even avoid fresh meat from wet markets reminiscent of where the virus is believed to have originated. Canned meat 2.0 offers an alternative that is safe, convenient and widely available choice.