Page 78 - IBT December 2020

Next Big Thing
Frozen
Foods
The Dark Horse of the
Food Industry
manifested itself even more strongly during
By Munira Fidai the pandemic. Whatever the reason, the
frozen food industry is on a climb and it is
increasing pace one fiscal year at a time.
The pandemic has been instrumental in
bringing out the shortcomings of certain
industries and forced them to change their
methods of work. Just like that, the pandemic
The frozen food industry is a 1500 crore has also pushed out front, those industries
industry as of this date for Bangladesh and that have to do with customer comfort and
can no way be overlooked as insignificant. give them the kiss of life. As more and more
However, until now, the market was people decide to stay home instead of braving
somewhat shielded from the limelight and the pandemic, they rely less on restaurant
has only just begun to peak its way through deliveries and instead spend more on frozen
to the center stage. Why then, has the foods that they can keep in the safety of their
process taken so long, and why now and not homes and prepare as they wish and when
when the country is experiencing an they wish. As staying home and socially
economic boom? One reason can be COVID-19 distancing results in some extra leisure time,
and especially the quarantine situation. this situation gives people more family time.
Another could be the overall changing family Culturally, during holidays or on days when
structure in urban Bangladesh and the the family is more or less relaxed, evening
fast-paced lifestyle of the cities that has snacks are a thing. Frozen goods can and
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have made snack time more convenient by
giving people a quick solution to such meals
and they are now more readily served than
before when these snacks had to be
handmade. Not only this but the
work-from-home culture has given many some
time to explore latent culinary talent, leading
to the sales of more frozen goods,
this time as ingredients rather than dishes on
their own.
sellers and companies may not agree to this The family structure of cities like Dhaka,
While the future does seem to be quite bright
for the frozen food industry, the frozen goods
exceedingly rosy picture painted of their trade.
They argue that restaurants, which used to be
the biggest buyers of their wares, are now
either shut down or are seeing slower traffic.
As such, profits are not really as high as they
may seem on the outside. Discrediting
business owners’ claims, some recent
achievements in the frozen food industry are Chittagong, and others have been quietly
that it generated upwards of $300 million
changing for quite some time. Where
USD in the fiscal year 2018-2019, about 1.4%
previously tradition called for bigger families
of the overall exports of the country. The
consisting of both immediate and extended
industry also hit $600 million USD in the
members, the shift towards smaller and then
fiscal year 2019-2020 (July-Jan) and has
nuclear families has been slow but sure. Now,
surpassed export volume for cotton and cotton
due to a lack of help from other family
products, leather and plastic products but
members, homemakers look for ways to make
according to experts, in all honesty, the climb
life easier for themselves. Frozen food items
optimistic climb in the profit trends of the
time and are therefore favorites. Similarly, the
industry worth 2500 crore, by as early as
fast-paced urban life pulls many young men
has really only begun. Projections show an offer quick, ready to eat meals which save
2025. Frozen food has its fans and its
from their hometowns into Dhaka’s glitz and
critiques but the pandemic situation truly has
glamour. These youths are too often faced
brought to light, this dark horse that had until with a problem as a majority of them do not
now managed to avoid the public eye in the
know how to cook. The frozen food industry
race.
has found its niche among this group and
they have been accepted with open arms. A
similar market, in the form of working youths,
is also present in Dhaka in the form of young
couples and young people living away from
parents. These go-getters are often reliant on
frozen food for their meals as they too are
busy with work and cannot give the domestic
part of their life too much thought. Names like
Golden Harvest, Kazi Farm, and Pran have
more or less become a part of their everyday
mealtime.
Although the most obvious picture that comes
to mind when we think of frozen goods is
ready to eat food, a major portion of
Bangladesh’s exports comes from dried and
processed foods like dried or frozen shrimp
and fish, livestock and poultry processed
meats, seasonal fruits, etc. Seasonal fruits are
special favorites, as these canned foods, that
are available year-round contain a mild and
fragrance-less stabilizer that retains the
natural properties of fruits as opposed to
AG group, Golden Harvest, etc
have a set customer base.
However, as the switching cost
from one company to another
is not significant, there is
nothing stopping customers
from trying out newer products
from other brands.
A strong need for cooking
convenience and healthy
preservatives and is considered by many to be a have their own mechanisms to ensure quality. As
competition between brands is
what is keeping the frozen
foods industry growing.
Although the industry is not
yet backed by certifications
such as BSTI or Bangladesh
Food Safety Authority, they
healthier alternative.
the process is not standardized yet, the quality of
During the COVID-19 phase, many people choose
products is not set but varies from company to
to remain within the safe walls of their homes company. A lot also depends on shopkeepers’
rather than go out to get groceries. The frozen
ability to keep food at a certain temperature to
foods industry has sniffed out the need of the
retain quality and things can and do go wrong
hour and made their products available online
for the manufacturing companies at this stage.
and just a click away. Now ready-made food is
When shopkeepers fail to keep their end of
not simply convenient to make, it is also easy to
quality control bargain, food quality suffers and
procure. And just like that, Bangladesh’s frozen
customers are not always the most forgiving.
foods online market is expected to be one of the
Despite these challenges, the industry has bright
fastest-growing segments in the near future.
prospects, and manufacturers and investors are
there, it was previously serving only a slim group
Looking at the short time span in which this
of upper-class consumers. Nowadays, however,
industry has made its mark on the food market
While the presence of frozen foods was always hopeful and optimistic about the market place.
even barring the pandemic, people have become
in Bangladesh and the numbers thus far, it may
more tech-savvy and have learned well how
be safely assumed that the producers and
technology and the internet can free up more investors are right to be so optimistic.
time for them and have started taking advantage
of online shopping. E-commerce giants in the
Bangladesh market like Shwapno and Chaldal
offer frozen products online and even modify
their orders by offering bundle pricing and
convenient payment options. They report that
per sale of frozen items earns them as much as
1500tk. There are as many as 30,000 people
buying frozen goods online every day from big
cities like Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet so the
sale amounts add up to a great sum. A good
number of companies are trying to open up sales
in other, smaller cities too so the market is set to
expand.
Despite the fact that frozen goods have been very
recently introduced to the Bangladesh food scene,
they have taken up a sizeable portion of the
market. About 30 companies joined the frozen
foods segment over the last 3 to 4 years, fueled
by the growing demand and a whopping 20%
annual growth rate for the past 5 years; with
small and big companies hopping on the
bandwagon every few months, the market is
jam-packed. Seasoned players such as Pran RFL,