India Ready-To-Cook Market Outlook, 2027-28

Food products that need some preparation, such as heating or boiling before consumption, fall under the Ready-To-Cook category, while the Ready To Eat category comprises packaged food items that are ready for consumption. Industry experts say the renewed interest in these categories has also been fuelled by the decline in out-of-home consumption of food. The growth in the market is driven by increasing urbanization and the shift of people from Tier 2 towns to Tier 1 and Metro cities. Besides this, changing consumer demographics such as the rise of nuclear families and double-income households coupled with a busy lifestyle is driving demand for convenience food products. According to the report titled- 'India Ready To Cook Market Outlook, 2027-28' published by Bonafide Research the market grew historically at a growth rate of around 14% from the period 2016-17 to 2021-22. Further it is expected to grow with increased demands from the working populace of the country. The growing number of female joining workplace is the major driving force for robust demands for ready-to-cook products in India.

By category, the market is segmented into four major categories named: Ready-to-mix, Instant Noodles, Instant Pasta & Instant Soup. The boom in India's Ready-To-cook market has given chances to many big entry-level players to increase their market share by delivering more variants at a reasonable price. Out of the segments, the instant noodles segment leads the market which has contributed to a share of more than half since the year 2015 and is to incline through the forecasted period. Maintaining taste remains the biggest challenge in the categories, as most of these products have preservatives, and go through processing.

Currently, the majority of the market is concentrated in Metro and Tier 1 cities owing to the high purchasing capacity of the consumer in these cities. However, the increase in the awareness and the viability of these products in a smaller quantity is to allow the rural region to experience a growth of over 19% during the forecasted period. Also, the brands' products are present mostly in modern trade stores and Grade A/A+ general trade stores owing to refrigeration requirements for frozen RTC which limits their adoption beyond these stores. However, online platforms have provided an alternative channel of growth for brands in the category and have led to an increase in their presence across various regions in the country.

The major challenge limiting the growth is the lack of proper infrastructure to supply and store such products on the retail shelf. However, improving cold chain infrastructure and investment by players to develop infrastructure in traditional retail stores will provide impetus to the overall growth of the category. Also, continuous innovation by players in developing new products and the launch of regional variants will further increase the adoption of categories among consumers.
Companies included are Nestle India Limited, Hindustan Unilever Limited, ITC Limited, Capital Foods Limited, CG Foods (India) Pvt. Ltd., Bambino Argo Industries Ltd., Gits Food Products Pvt. Ltd., Kohinoor Foods Limited, iD Fresh Food (India) Pvt. Ltd., Maiyas Beverages and Foods Pvt. Ltd., Ushodaya Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., Desai Foods Private Limited, Alimento Agro Foods Private Limited, Bikaner Foods Pvt. Ltd. These companies match the individual taste preferences of consumers, which varies throughout the country; and, at the same time, keep economics in mind and do it profitably.

The key segments in the report are:
• India Instant Noodles Market
• India Instant Pasta Market
• India Soup Market
• India Read-To-Mix market
• Snacks Mix
• Curry & Dal Mix
• Dessert Mix
• Others(Meals, Rice Mix)

Considered in the report
• Geography: India
• Base year: 2021-22
• Historical year: 2016-17
• Forecasted year: 2026-27

Segments covered in the market
• By Category
• By Demographic Area
• By Company
• By Region
• By Sales Channel
• By Company

This report can be useful to Industry consultants, manufacturers and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing & presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.

Report Methodology: The information contained in this report is based upon both primary and secondary research. Primary research included interviews with various channel partners of induction cooktop and electric cooker in India. Secondary research included an exhaustive search of relevant publications like company annual reports, financial reports and proprietary databases.

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Manmayi Raval

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