In the United
States Millennials are attracted to large urban cities mostly seeking jobs, thus
creating higher demand for housing, and a ‘new’ lifestyle. The same thing is taking place around the
world in Thailand the growth of a rising urban middle-class is driving demand
for convenience specifically demand for packaged convenient food from Convenience
stores.
Demand
for Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food is growing continuously in
Thailand on the back of changing lifestyles in the kingdom. As an ever greater
share of the population lives in the condominiums of Bangkok's sprawling suburbs,
as rural areas turn into industrial clusters, as traffic jams worsen and more
family members work outside, demand for more convenient packaged food options
is rising. Here are some numbers from Euromonitor International:
1. The retail value of
ready-to-eat meals is forecast to grow this year by 10% year-on-year to
THB7.4bn (US$210.5m).
2. The success of
ready-to-eat in Thailand is closely linked to the success of convenience
stores, of which there are by now close to 30,000, or a ratio of about one
store for every 5,500 people.
Pichaya
Poonlarp, an assistant professor at Chiang Mai
University's
faculty of agro-industry, sounding a lot like Foodserivce Solutions® Grocerant Guru®
Steven Johnson stated "There's no
time for cooking, so pre-cooked products, frozen meals and sterilised product
are in the convenience stores all over the areas in Thailand," …As each
menu is either in frozen or in sterilised form, consumers can buy and ask the
store staff to warm them using the microwave."
Poonlarp
continued naming some of the top selling items in Thialand including “stir-fried
chicken with mint leaves over rice, fried rice, wonton soup, stir-fried garlic
and pepper pork over rice, stir-fried rice noodle and curry over rice as the
most popular ready-to-eat meals sold in Thailand's convenience stores.”
Poonlarp
also noted “US-style fast foods such as hamburgers and pizzas are popular among
children and teenagers, whereas the 15-50 age bracket displays more fondness of
Japanese-style ready-to-eat meals, such as sushi and noodle soups.”
Tunyarut
JinKarn, head of the department of packaging and materials technology at
Bangkok's Kasetsart University's faculty of agro-industry, argues the strength
of Thailand's convenience store channel is a grave threat to the fast food
sector, from hamburger outlets to traditional street foods.
"Ready-to-eat prices are acceptable, so that ready-to-eat competes with
fast food head-on on price," JinKarn explains. "But unlike the fast
food sector, ready-to-eat companies like CPF are constantly launching new
ready-to-eat meals on the back of robust R&D efforts, and promote them
through TV, Internet and leaflets."
Well
it would appear that Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared
food continues to drive retail foodservice growth globally. The threat to the fast food sector and
the restaurant sector over all can be validated by declining year over year
customer count numbers that the restaurant sector in the United States
continues to post. Those numbers
negative or flat numbers can be reversed, replaced, or revitalized with
integration of Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru’s Five P’s of
Grocerant Marketing.
For
international corporate presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact:
Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us the Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based
Foodservice Solutions®. His extensive
experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product
positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all. Visit:
www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more
information
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