Attitude to food holding back growth of Indian ready to eat food segnent

UK-based martket research firm Datamonitor predicts that the Indian ready-to-eat (RTE) foods market in India, which was mainly driven by export demand until recently, has matured to a stage where there is a tremendous potential for growth within the country itself, over the next few years.

Datamonitor's consumer insight report Emerging Opportunities in the Indian Ready-to-Eat Foods Market, said that in 2009, the Indian RTE foods market was estimated to be around $33.5 million, registering a CAGR of approximately 15 per cent over the last five years.

At present, RTE foods with normal shelving, ie, canned RTE foods that require no refrigeration, alone contribute to approximately 60 per cent of the total market.

''For a product, which predominantly depended on the export markets to strike a chord with both the rising popularity of Indian cuisines and the burgeoning Indian diaspora across the globe, the recent rise in demand in the local market is substantial one'', commented Pinaki Mukherjee, lead consultant with Datamonitor India's consumer markets team.

The role of women in an urban Indian family has undergone a massive transformation. Working women today have very little time to involve themselves in regular household chores like cooking. This factor is predominantly driving the growth of convenience foods such as RTE in India.

''With the increasing involvement of women in India's labour force, rising number of nuclear families and a desire to maximise ''me'' time, the Indian RTE foods market size is poised to double by 2014,'' said Pinaki.