Sir: The Grocer’s report (’10 things you need to know about… frozen food’, thegrocer.co.uk) demonstrates the innovative, buoyant nature of our sector. But yet again it reveals the challenges we face, not least in changing the attitudes of journalists.
Your story claims: “One in three say frozen food is inferior to fresh”. In other words, two-thirds of consumers believe frozen is equal to or better than fresh. The feature goes on to examine the attitudes of the one-third negative portion of your sample, rather than focusing on the 70% who say “frozen food is for people like me and my family”.
Lucia Juliano, head of fmcg and retail research at Harris Interactive, says: “stores and frozen food brands need to do more to combat these negative perceptions”. I couldn’t agree more. That’s why the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF), supported by our members, has been running a highly successful PR and social media campaign for several years. This has already changed consumers’ attitudes to frozen.
There will always be more to do, particularly in improving consumers’ experience of the frozen aisle, but progress is being made here. And despite the claim in the feature that frozen space is being squeezed, three of the top four retailers increased space last year.
This week, the BFFF’s annual business conference brought together brands, retailers and suppliers from across fmcg and foodservice. This sold-out event is yet more evidence of a thriving sector, that continues to deliver innovation, convenience and great value. Hopefully these trends will be reflected in your frozen report 2016.
Brian Young, CEO, BFFF
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