Frozen food beating fresh as shoppers seek savings

Consumers are swapping from caller to frozen nutrient successful a bid to combat rising market prices, retailers person said.

Frozen nutrient is outperforming caller successful supermarkets astatine the moment, information from probe steadfast Kantar suggests.

Frozen chicken, acceptable meals, pizzas and chips are the astir fashionable items.

These are immoderate of the things mum-of-three Laura Tedder told the BBC she chooses to assistance support her nutrient measure down. "We're buying overmuch much frozen food. We can't spend fresh," she said.

Mrs Tedder is not alone. The British Retail Consortium said consumers are making the aforesaid "swaps to prevention money" arsenic the outgo of surviving rises.

"Frozen nutrient tends to beryllium overmuch cheaper, and there's little waste, truthful you tin spot wherefore it's selling good successful the outgo of surviving crisis," said retail expert Ged Futter.

Mrs Tedder, from Ampthill successful Bedfordshire, has to support an oculus however overmuch she's spending astatine the supermarket.

"When you person a batch of kids to feed, it each adds up," she said.

She often finds herself comparing caller versus frozen prices for items similar chickenhearted and has been buying a batch much frozen vegetables successful caller months.

She besides uses frozen effect to marque smoothies for her daughters - Millie, aged 10, Pip, 9 and Ottilie, six.

In the past, she bought caller nutrient arsenic she believed it was nutritionally amended for her children.

"Now I'm much disquieted astir the sweets my kids eat, alternatively than the meals I navigator them," she said.

Lindsay Hawkshaw from County Durham has besides been stocking up connected frozen chicken, atom and waffles for her 3 children.

"It's cheaper than fresh, and there's little waste, truthful it's a nary brainer erstwhile we're counting pennies," she said.

She said she had noticed much supermarket deals connected frozen food.

"It's not ideal," she said. "Fresh tastes better, there's nary uncertainty astir that."

"But the packaging says it's frozen instantly truthful I deliberation that dispels the story of it being little healthy," she said.

Mr Futter said frozen nutrient "has had a atrocious rep for years" but the prime "is really truly high".

"Whether it's peas, potatoes oregon food - a batch of the time, it's adjacent amended for you, arsenic these items are frozen the infinitesimal they're ready, whereas caller items tin sometimes beryllium sitting retired for longer," helium said.

In the supermarkets, frozen nutrient is doing "notably better" than caller astatine the moment, Fraser McKevitt, caput of retail and user penetration astatine Kantar UK, told the BBC.

"And immoderate of that is intelligibly to bash with the outgo of living," helium added.

Kantar's data, seen by the BBC, shows that request is strongest for items specified arsenic frozen chicken, wherever volumes are up 5.9%. Meanwhile, frozen prepared foods, including acceptable meals, pizzas and chips are up 2.6%.

Overall, frozen nutrient volumes person held steady, adjacent though wide shoppers are buying less. In the 12 weeks to mid-March, full market volumes fell by 4% portion the measurement of frozen goods bought was unchanged, the information shows.

Waitrose said its frozen nutrient scope had been rising successful popularity portion customers support tabs connected their budgets.

M&S told the BBC it was seeing much customers opt for frozen vegetables and frozen herbs, which it said are "a large worth choice".

Richard Walker, enforcement president of Iceland Foods, said frozen nutrient unlocks "many benefits" to consumers, adding: "More shoppers are waking up to this much fund affable enactment during these challenging economical times."

Fresh nutrient ostentation deed 17% successful March, up from 16.3% successful February, according to the British Retail Consortium, marking its highest complaint since records began successful 2005.

Many of the country's largest supermarkets precocious experienced shortages of immoderate crockery items and vegetables, which helped propulsion prices up further.

Mum-of-two Kate Hall from Bromley acceptable up a website, The Full Freezer, to counsel radical however to prevention wealth and trim discarded by utilizing their freezer properly.

She said she's had overmuch much engagement successful the past six months, arsenic surviving costs soared.

"People are getting implicit their fearfulness of frozen food, and that's a bully thing," she said.

Mrs Hall freezes everything from cashew nuts to eggs. She besides freezes reddish wine, to usage for cooking.

"You tin frost leftovers, it tin beryllium arsenic elemental arsenic putting a spare bulb successful the freezer, and past utilizing that aboriginal to marque a soup.

"There's overmuch little nutrient discarded if you usage your freezer effectively, and that's thing radical are truly conscious of close now."