The trends of the mainstream consumers behaviour have altered, over the last few weeks, due to COVID-19. This has resulted in a stark difference between domestic freezer sales from 2019 to 2020, with a 200% uplift (AO.com, 10^th March). Consumers are stockpiling and doing it cost effectively to a degree.

What effect does it have on the Frozen Food Sector?

This traction has put certain frozen food producers supply chain under great pressure. With eating outside the home being substituted to eating within the home, a significant share has gone to frozen with lower costs and the convenience factor.

In North America some frozen pizza producers have found this shift in demand quite difficult to meet. It’s been compared to Super Bowl Sunday figures, but the duration is just not a weekend, but numerous weeks amounting to $257 million (Dave Best, COO Newman’s Best).

Will it continue

This it difficult to predict, on what will be the full effect of COVID-19. If it’s a simple reduction in Global GDP of -5% and employment to return to normal figures by late 2021 (IMF). Or it could be as bad as the Great Depression (IMF). So, what we have in our shopping cart in a years’ time, is somewhat unimaginable. But, in the meantime put some pizza’s in the freezer, to be safe.