Chilled and frozen food industry includes companies that produce, manufacture, distribute and research about frozen food products, and the products include such as frozen fruits, frozen dishes, frozen vegetables and juices, frozen entrees, frozen pancakes and french toast, frozen side dishes, frozen whipped toppings and frozen waffles. The frozen foods are distributed to outlets such as grocery wholesalers, retail food stores and the hospitality industry. The revenues for the chilled and frozen food industry has grown slowly in the last decade, however the industry generated a good and substantial revenue as the customers opted for the inexpensive products due to the dip in disposable incomes but that lasted for short term as the sales soon declines with fall in unemployment and disposable incomes grew higher and customers preferred fresh products to frozen.

The chilled and frozen food industry has had considerable challenges in the last decade with health and nutrition movements increasingly promoting consumption of fresh foods for the additional benefits that come along with it, but the major players and large companies have rolled out some of the consumer trends that proved successful as the combination of promotional strategies and introduction of new innovative products packaged with better quality proved that chilled and frozen food still has long way to go as the demand sustained and supply improved. The industry estimates that the growth will be marginal in the next few years to come so the producers are expected to put first convenience and nutrition as priority to gain more consumers. The manufacturers have innovated in the last decade to supply the varieties of foods that are in higher quality and contain healthier ingredients. Due to this change, the industry has expected the revenue to grow at an estimated 2% as a result of products' health benefits and successful marketing.

2 . Current Market Trends in Chilled and Frozen Food Industry

The global chilled and frozen food industry has had its ups and downs ever since the turbulent financial recession caught most of the world's economies but there has been a great recovery with newer introductions of better, healthier and efficient products. As a result, revenue is expected to grow at the rate of 2.6% annually to the value of $28.4 billion over the five year period to 2013. According to MarketLine, the global chilled and frozen food industry recorded close to 4% growth in 2010 to exceed $192 billion, and the market is expected to see 19% growth in the five years period to exceed $228 billion  by the end of 2015. And in terms of volume, the market is expected to grow 14% growth in the same period to reach almost 43.5 billion kilograms. In terms of products, frozen meat remains the leading segment which accounts for more than 41% of the overall market in terms of value.

According to Global Industry Analysts, in the global frozen prepared food market, the value is expected to reach and exceed over $186 billion by the end of 2015 as the consumers are opting for frozen prepared food as an alternative to fresh cooked food as it provides convenience, and also because of the hectic lifestyles and time constraints of working urban people and more importantly freshness. According to Business Insights, in 2007 the ice cream market exceeded $49 billion and the market is expected to reach approximately $66 billion  by the end of 2014. Globally, ice cream manufacturers are continuously focusing their marketing and product innovation efforts on catering to more health-conscious consumers. Lately, there has been an increasing trend of consuming ice creams with reduced fat content, limited preservatives and less artificial ingredients, that is the reason manufacturers are including healthier ingredients to appeal to a wider-range of consumers.

3 . Major Players In Chilled and Frozen Foods

Major players in the chilled and frozen food include Nestle, Schwan Food Company, ConAgra Foods, H.J. Heinz Company, Anchor Food Products, Appetizers And Inc, ASK Foods Inc, Bernatello Pizzas, McCain Foods Inc, Nancy's Pies Inc, New York Frozen Food, Penguin Frozen Foods, Rhino Foods Inc, Seven Foods Inc and Trans Pecos Foods.