Consumers continue to turn to frozen foods for convenience, nutrition and value.

Frozen foods sales increased by about 8% overall in 2022, and were 31% over 2019 pre-pandemic levels, according to NielsenIQ. Globally, the frozen food market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 6%, climbing to $600 billion by 2032, according to a report by Future Market Insights. North America is estimated to account for one-third of the global frozen food market, projected to grow at a 3.5% CAGR.

“The marketplace for frozen continues to grow and accelerate,” said Alison Bodor, president and CEO of the American Frozen Food Institute, AFFI. “We see a long runway in the future as (Millennials and Gen Z) continue to mature, with their appreciation for the category.”

An AFFI survey released in November found over a quarter of shoppers are buying more frozen fruits and vegetables than three years ago. And over 90% of foodservice operators reported using frozen foods in their menus, with the healthcare, convenience store and fast casual categories measuring the greatest increase in use since 2019.

“Since before the pandemic, the category has grown by about $20 billion so it’s demonstrated that the innovations that this industry invested in – proved to be the right ones – meeting the consumer demands for healthier product, cleaner labels, etc. has really paid off,” Bodor said. “We’re really bullish on the future.”

According to Acosta’s latest Frozen Food Trends & Insights study, there are three key drivers for consumers’ frozen food purchases: value, convenience and healthy options. Comfort weighs in as an ancillary driver to purchase.

“Two years ago, our research attributed frozen food sales growth predominantly to the pandemic and the resulting evolution of consumer demand with more people cooking at home,” said Kathy Risch, senior vice president, Consumer Insights and Trends at Acosta in the report. “Today, even as the average unit price for frozen products has risen 15% over 2021, consumers continue to select frozen as a key part of their food shopping experience. We’ve found that criteria for purchase are balanced between the requirements of affordability and value, healthy choices that meet dietary or lifestyle needs, convenience of preparation and a bit of comfort.”

The study found that 67% of consumers believe that frozen sometimes provides a better value than non-frozen, listing the categories of vegetables, fruit, meat, fish and pizza. Ready-to-eat foods and snacking options are hot sellers: items like frozen pizzas, breakfast and handhelds continue to be volume drivers.

Clearly communicating the value of frozen foods and promoting the nutritional content preserved in frozen foods will become more important as consumers look to maximize their grocery dollars.

Our Rankings

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ annual Top 150 Frozen Foods Processors Report is a snapshot of the top 25 frozen foods processors in six categories: Meals & Entreés; Snacks, Apps & Sides; Meat, Poultry & Seafood; Dairy; Fruits & Vegetables; and Bakery. This report represents Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ best efforts to reflect recent sales data based on annual reports, news releases, and statistics from our sister publications and other business media sources. Because most companies do not separate frozen sales from their total sales, the figures are either company-wide or segmented by region (North American sales, for example). If you work for a company on this list and know the approximate sales data of the frozen products your business produces, please contact me and I will update this page.

Highlights from 2022 in Meals & Entrees

• Ruiz Foods, a frozen food manufacturer specializing in Mexican foods, acquired Culinary International, LLC, to allow for West Coast manufacturing expansion.
• Monogram Foods opened a 135,000-square-foot facility dedicated to pre-assembled sandwich manufacturing in Massachusetts.
• White Castle celebrated 35 years of bringing sliders to home freezers.
• The Real Good Food Company opened a second facility in Illinois, doubling manufacturing capacity.
• Papa Gino’s brought its pizza to grocers’ freezers in 22 states, marking the first time the 80-year-old family recipe was available outside of New England.

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Highlights from 2022 in Snacks, Appetizers & Side Dishes

• Boba Bam frozen instant boba drink was voted the best new frozen retail product of 2022. 
• J&J Snack Foods announced plans to buy Dippin’ Dots for $222 million.

*2022 FY not available at press time or company declined to confirm figures.

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Highlights from 2022 in Meat, Poultry & Seafood

• Rosina Food Products Inc., a manufacturer of frozen Italian specialty foods, opened a new $73-million meat processing facility in Buffalo.
• West Liberty Foods, an Iowa-based producer of proteins including meatballs and chicken wings, was named R&FF’s2022 Frozen Foods Processor of the Year.

*2022 FY not available at press time or company declined to confirm figures.

**Not all plants produce frozen meats.

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Highlights from 2022 in Dairy

• Ferroro Group acquired Wells Enterprises, including its Blue Bunny and Halo Top brands.
• Great Lakes ice cream brand Perry’s announced an $18-million project to expand production capabilities.
• Frozen novelties manufacturer Tropicale Foods announced plans for a $75-million renovation at its Texas plant to meet growing demand.
• Unilever began delivering ice cream on demand via drone in select areas of North Carolina and Texas.

*2022 FY not available at press time or company declined to confirm figures.

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Highlights from 2022 in Fruits & Vegetables

• Mars acquired whole-fruit snacking brand Trü Frü.
• Conagra opened $300-million Minnesota plant for frozen vegetables, particularly the Birds Eye brand.
• McCain Foods acquired Scelta Products, adding the Netherlands-based producer of frozen foods to its family of prepared vegetable appetizer product offerings.
• B&G Foods purchased the frozen veggie manufacturing operations of Growers Express.
• Kraft Heinz and J.R. Simplot announced an exclusive, multi-year supply agreement for Ore-Ida.

*2022 FY not available at press time or company declined to confirm figures.

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Highlights from 2022 in Bakery

• Cincinnati-based Klosterman Baking Company was acquired by an affiliate of New Water Capital Partners L.P., after the Klosterman family made the decision together to step away from the industry.
• General Mills acquired TNT Crust, a manufacturer of frozen pizza crusts for regional and national pizza chains, foodservice distributors and retail.

*2022 FY not available at press time or company declined to confirm figures.

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