Packaged Food Industry To Grow 56 Per Cent By 2017

India's packaged food industry is projected to grow by about 56 per cent to $50 billion by 2017, according to a report by trade body Assocham.

The growth is driven by rising demand for ready-to-eat foods, snacks and beverages.

Average rate of annual spending on packaged food by Indian households has increased by 32.5 per cent between 2010 and 2015 while the growth is expected to touch around 35 per cent per year in the coming years, according to an Assocham survey.

The packaged food market is estimated to be $32 billion at present and will reach $50 billion in two years, the report noted.

The survey highlighted that 76 per cent of parents, mostly working couples, with children under five years of age serve easy-to-prepare meals at least 10-12 times per month.

"The consumption of packaged food is much higher in the urban areas, especially metros, where life is fast-paced, attracting lot more companies to launch new types of products and variants," said D.S. Rawat, Assocham secretary-general.

The study also pointed out that there is a large divide between urban, semi-urban and rural consumers. The urban demand accounts for 80 per cent of all packaged food.

About 76 per cent of nuclear families feel that they have less time to spend in the kitchen. It is in this background that home delivery business model for cooked food has grown multi-fold.

Nearly 79 per cent of unmarried people prefer the convenience food. The main categories of packaged food are bakery products, canned processed food, frozen processed food, ready-to-eat meals, dairy products, diet snacks, processed meat and health products and drinks, said the survey.

Food companies have started concentrating on making new innovative food products and ready-to-eat processed foods so that they can keep up with the speed of changing consumer tastes.

There has been a major shift in food habits in the metropolitan cities, where about 79 per cent of households prefer to have instant food due to steep rise in dual income level and standard of living and convenience.