Growing economy, increasing employment opportunities and changing lifestyles are some of the drivers behind the increasing prepared meals market in India, which is estimated to grow from INR2.6bn (US$37.9m) in 2018 to INR4.7bn (US$63.2m) by 2023, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.7%, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s report, ‘India Prepared Meals – Market Assessment and Forecast to 2023’, reveals that the ready meals category held the largest value share of 88.8% in 2018 and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 12.7% over 2018–2023. On the other hand, the meal kits category, which held a value share of 11.2% in 2018, is expected to record a value CAGR of 12.2% during the next five years.

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‘Ready meals’ was also the largest category in volume terms, registering volume sales of 9.1 million kg in 2018. The category is forecast to grow the fastest at a CAGR of 9.3% during 2018–2023.

Sneha Singh, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, says: “The growing middle class and increasing working population, particularly young adults, looking for instant and convenient food products, are shifting towards prepared meals.”

MTR Foods Pvt Ltd., Haldirams and Gits Food Products Pvt. Ltd. are the leading companies in the Indian prepared meals sector. MTR Foods offer products in meal kits and ready meals categories, whereas Haldirams and Gits Food Products have products positioned in the ready meals category.

Hypermarkets & supermarkets is the leading channel for the distribution of prepared meals in India. It held a value share of 80.9% in 2018, followed by convenience stores and food & drinks specialists with shares of 14.5% and 2.6%, respectively.

Singh concludes: “With growing disposable income, Indian consumers will continue to trade-up in the prepared meals sector providing manufacturers an opportunity to offer products with high quality and novel ingredients.”