Q&A: Jim Cane on the future of frozen food
What does the future hold for the frozen food industry?
"We're very upbeat. The market is showing consistent growth and the message is getting across about the intrinsic benefits of frozen as an entirely natural and sensible way to preserve the very best qualities of food.
"Consumers are starting to appreciate that frozen can be equally as good and natural as the chilled equivalent."
How do you see it developing over the next five to 10 years?
"Naturalness and health will be the key drivers. Our own seafood sector is a perfect example of this - plain natural fish is now the fastest growing sector in our category. People are increasingly returning to the freezer as a 'larder' for quality ingredients, with less waste.
"And finally, with good quality new product development the freezer can rival the chiller cabinet shelf for exciting and interesting prepared foods with good provenance.
"All of this is great news for continued growth."
What are the key challenges?
"The industry's key challenge is to lay to rest the image which has dogged frozen foods for the past 20 years - that it's cheap and low quality. We have to demonstrate that frozen is the ideal modern solution to provide exactly what people want - natural, healthy foods.
"In the past people switched to chilled because they thought chilled food was better quality - we have to persuade them to get into the habit of shopping the frozen aisle again.
"Once they're there, they should find plenty of reasons to keep coming back."
What lessons should we learn from history?
"Frozen had great growth during the Seventies and Eighties - then in the Nineties producers started to chase low cost. That was the category's low point - when frozen was perceived as being a cheap, lower quality option.
"We mustn't slide back into a low cost mentality which results in poor quality.
"Frozen should deliver better value rather than low prices - and this will be a challenge particularly in view of continuing ingredient inflation. We all have to accept that the era of cheap food is over."
How do we persuade consumers and retailers that frozen can be better than fresh?
"Manufacturers have responsibility for giving consumers positive messages about frozen. There has been some great work in this area in the past couple of years - think of advertising by Birds Eye, McCain and ourselves - it's all about quality, provenance and naturalness.
"This is perfectly in tune with the consumer need for great food that is readily available.
"The freezer is the perfect solution to preserving freshness and nutrition, particularly for ingredients people want to cook with like fish and vegetables.
"It is also a better way to manage the supply chain from distant parts of the world - shipping frozen foods will become even more important in the future as air-freight becomes less acceptable because of its environmental impact."
Who or what has been the biggest influence on your business in the past five to 10 years?
"The most important change is in general consumer 'foodiness'.
"More people are cooking but even those that don't are more adventurous and interested in better quality food - as well as where it comes from.
"In seafood, this means we can successfully market more species than ever before. It also means that provenance is an invaluable part of our communication - not just about where the fish comes from, but also the necessary reassurance that we have sourced it responsibly."
Why don't we export more?
"Mainly because none of the UK manufacturers have yet set themselves up to do it! For ourselves, now that Young's is part of a major European food group (Foodvest) we are exploring new opportunities alongside our sister company in Europe, Findus.
"We are also considering prospects for expansion in English-speaking countries where the Young's brand would have a natural fit, such as the USA and Australia."
Any other matters you consider important?
"We can't close this discussion without remembering how important it is that major frozen players such as ourselves, Birds Eye and McCain engage properly with the retailers to help drive category growth.
"Frozen will never reach its true potential unless we improve the retail environment and make the frozen aisle equally as enjoyable a place to shop as any other part of the store."
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