In last year’s Top 150 Frozen Foods Processors report, we discussed how the industry overcame consumers’ negative perception of frozen foods.

Fast forward to today, and it’s clear that shoppers are gravitating more and more to the freezercases. That’s because according to our most recent poll, 41% of readers surveyed eat frozen foods of some kind (whether it be frozen vegetables, pizza, breakfast items, soups or ice cream) more than once a week, followed by 18% eat frozen foods every day and 17% eat frozen foods once a week. For more on this and other Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ polls, go to
bit.ly/1mqoXDB. 

Case in point: According a 2016 trends report released by Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center (FAPC), Stillwater, Okla., meal kits, big flavors and new cuts of meat are some of the Top 16 food trends for this year.

Further proof that the frozen foods market is here to stay—a study conducted by Harris Poll, Rochester, N.Y., says that 15% of Americans hail frozen pizza as their No. 1 comfort food item, with ice cream coming in second at 7%.

Meanwhile, food manufacturers are doing their part by building, expanding, launching new SKUs, developing new products and helping the frozen foods industry as a whole grow.

For example, Inventure Foods, Inc., Phoenix, Ariz., announced plans to add a second manufacturing site to its existing individually-quick frozen (IQF) berry processing and packaging facility in Lynden, Wash.

The Schwan Food Co., Marshall, Minn., formed the Schwan’s Chef Collective, a team of up-and-coming U.S. chefs who will assist in developing the next generation of Schwan-branded frozen foods.

Houston, Texas-based Ajinomoto Windsor, formerly known as Windsor Foods, announced plans to add a new production line at its Oakland, Miss., facility.

AdvancePierre Foods, Cincinnati, opened a customer innovation and research center, a combination of lab space and meeting rooms that brings the R&D food labs and test kitchens to customers.

Additionally, the top trends for 2016 indicate that traditional shopping patterns are changing. For example, ordering groceries online and digitizing the store rank among the top trends in grocery shopping for 2016, according to John Karolefski, veteran supermarket watcher and purveyor of GroceryStories.com. This provides an additional sales channel for many of today’s frozen food processors looking to gain extra exposure and distribution. 

To learn more about these and other frozen food trends as well as news from some of the nation’s leading frozen food processors, check out our Top 150 Frozen Foods Processors report.