Keeping in tab with a research study conducted by "The Grocer”, a few years back, the demand for frozen food started experiencing a steep incline from 2020. And the invention of ‘IQF’ caused an evolution in the frozen food market. It involves storing individual fruits to blast freezers for quick freezing in order to extend the fruits’ shelf life and preserve them for a longer period of time. Several issues associated with frosting fruit bunches; especially pulpy fruits, have driven the development in the IQF fruit market. As per AFFI’s (American Frozen Food Institute) president and CEO Alison Bodor, the category of frozen food comes with a number of advantages for today's consumers, and frozen vegetables and fruits hold out an important component. Among more than 1500 consumers surveyed by AFFI, the majority (86%) agreed that having frozen fruits and vegetables makes it easier to consume in an adequate quantity, when 83% of them said that frozen fruits and vegetables help them save money because they are long-lasting and they only need to prepare the amount they need, rather than cooking everything from scratch.
According to Allied Market Research, the global IQF fruit market is projected to display a noteworthy CAGR from 2022 to 2031. Consumer expenditure on luxury food is increasing significantly, and fast foods, bakery products, ice creams, and other lifestyle food products are becoming increasingly popular. IQF fruits are extensively being used in the bakery, confectionery, and dairy industries. Innovative product launches by various players have increased the demand for quality frozen bakery products such as cakes and pastries.
Mergers and acquisitions are an important aspect; when it comes to the development of the IQF sector. Sugana Poultry Farm Co., Ltd. announced the opening of a cold store in Tiruchi in October 2018. It has a storage capacity of 25 tons of fruits and vegetables. In June 2019, ‘JBT’ announced the completion of two acquisitions, one with Prime Equipment Group, Inc., and another with ‘Proseal UK Limited’. The acquisitions helped in the generation of a massive revenue for the companies in 2019.
In January 2021, ‘Dole Packaged Foods, LLC’ started a frozen fruit service in the US. The new facility is built on an area of about 60,000 square feet. It is fully automated and has four manufacturing lines that can produce 60 million pounds of frozen fruits each year. Aussie Frozen Fruit, an Australian company, launched a frozen pineapple product with 100% Australian origin pineapples in April 2021. In September 2021, ‘Nomad Foods’, a UK-based food industry, acquired ‘Fortenova’ Group’s frozen food business. Nomad Foods is expected to create value for its customers in the upcoming years through this acquisition.
On the other hand, in May 2022, ‘Mira Jhala’, a successive entrepreneur, started her fourth startup, ‘FroGoan’, an online frozen food product and distribution business located in Gurugram, India. In June 2022, Delekita , the frozen food company from Dubai, UAE, collaborated with Medicca, a Jordan-based Mideast import and consultancy agency, to enter the Jordanian market.
COVID 19 Impact on the global IQF fruits market: The sudden outbreak of the pandemic put a massive strain on the global supply chain, which in turn had a sheer negative impact on the IQF fruits market. However, as the situation across the world started getting back to normalcy, the companies dealing with IQF fruits also initiated restructuring their operations, so as to become more efficient and sell their products more easily. With the adaptation of new strategies and inventions, the market for IQF fruits has been able to recover fast.
Author’s Bio- Gayatri Mohite is an emerging author who loves to explore new things. An addiction to reading motivates her to write. She also loves to sing, travel, and cook. A fresher who is constantly upgrading her skills has embarked on a new journey to touch up her expertise even more.