Prepared meals remain hard sell in Mexican market
UK based firm Progressive Digital Media forecasts that the sector will grow by just 1.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in terms of value in the 2012-2017 time frame. By comparison, the overall Mexican economy was forecast to grow by 3.5% in 2013.
Within the packaged foods sphere, the ready meals category is forecast to be the strongest, with an anticapated volume CAGR of 3% for the forecast period. That subcategory is also the largest, taking 66.9% of the pie by value and 56.6% by volume in 2012. The meal kits category comes in second at 19.9% and 32% respectively and pizza brings up the rear at 13.2% and 11.4%.
As for growth in the forecast period, ready meals are forecast to grow by 1.8% CAGR in terms of value and 3% by volume. Meal kits will come in at 1.4% and 2.3% and pizza at 0.5% and 1.6% respectively.
This represents one of the slowest growth rates of all food subcategories in the country, the report said. “Marketers of prepared meals face a difficult task in convincing Mexican consumers that their products are convenient, tasty and healthy,” the report said.
