The Next Ice Age

With across the board improvements in quality, ingredients, variety and taste, it is the dawn of a new epoch for the frozen food aisle.

The lid has been slammed shut on those aptly named frozen food aisle coffin cases filled with tinfoil-tray TV dinners, brick pack vegetable boxes, boil-in-bag entrées and desserts with all the panache of a half-gallon of Sealtest Ice Milk. In their place, a new door has opened into a multicultural world of restaurant-quality appetizers, entrées, side dishes, snacks and desserts. Those eight-inch long ingredient panels requiring a magnifying glass are going by the wayside too, replaced by a handful of clean, wholesome, farm-fresh ingredients processed and deep-frozen within hours of harvesting.

“Over the past several years we’ve stripped every artificial preservative out that we possibly can and gone to citric acid and ascorbic acid, the vitamin C-type of preservatives,” says Mike Pinkowski, president of SatisPie, a Rochester, N.Y.-based manufacturer of private label and control label pies. “Consumers don’t want preservatives anymore. They would rather give up shelf life and have to refrigerate or toss it than get out the dictionary or sit down and Google what all the ingredients are in this stuff.”

Saffron Road Foods, a manufacturer of global-inspired entrées, has been trying to set itself apart from the competition since its founding at the dawn of the 21st century. “What we realized was that this was a category ripe for innovation,” says Jack Acree, executive vice president of the Stamford, Conn.-based company. “And for us innovation can actually be had by sometimes going backwards.

“We started by using premium ingredients, such as proteins humanely raised without antibiotics,” Acree adds. “We use authentic ingredients, grinding our spices on-site and making them truly as close as possible as to what would be done in a restaurant setting, as opposed to an industrial factory.”

Saffron Road was “clean label” before it became a catchphrase, Acree says, and by their nature, several of its products are gluten-free. “Everything we claim about our products is third-party verified,” Acree says.      

The top trends influencing the frozen food category today are quality, freshness and convenience, says Matt Giese, associate brand manager, Marie Callender’s, a brand of Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra Foods. “Marie Callender’s provides consumers with high quality meals that feature homemade touches and real ingredients picked at their peak before freezing to lock in the nutrients and taste,” he says. “As consumers cook one of our dishes, they are able to savor the tasty aromas that come from cooking a homemade meal and serve it fresh.”

According to Giese, brands that stay on top of consumers’ interests, trends and conversations and evolving mindsets on ingredient quality are helping to reinvigorate the frozen category. “Through consumer research, brands are able to create new flavor SKUs and fulfill consumer needs,” Giese says. “As we look to evolve consumers’ mindsets, it is important to insert the brand into hot conversation topics such as real, fresh ingredients.”

Marie Callender’s has done just that by expanding its popular premium pot pies to include Chili Pot Pie and Broccoli Cheddar & Potato Pot Pie. “Just like all of our pot pies, these new flavors are filled with hearty ingredients and baked in our golden, made-from-scratch crust,” says Giese.                     

This summer, Stouffer’s launched its Fit Kitchen line, billed as delicious, wholesome and contemporary frozen meals packed with protein and flavor, and targeted to the growing male audience. The line’s initial items consist of Bourbon Steak, Cilantro-Lime Chicken, Oven-Roasted Chicken, Monterey Chicken, Rotisserie Seasoned Turkey and Steak Fajita.

“As we evaluated the frozen meal landscape, the brand felt there was a real unmet need for male consumers who are looking to eat and live better,” says Tom Moe, director of marketing for Stouffer’s, the Solon, Ohio-based division of Nestlé. “Fit Kitchen was designed with 25-grams or more of protein and modern flavors, like Bourbon Steak or the smoked red chile sauce in our Steak Fajita.”   

Meanwhile, sister brand Lean Cuisine has reformatted itself as a modern eating brand and ally for women’s wellness, according to company officials.

“We’ve committed ourselves to completely making over Lean Cuisine to align with the way people are selecting and enjoying their food,” says Jeff Hamilton, president of Nestlé Prepared Foods. “Giving shoppers choices within the frozen food aisle is a pillar of the Lean Cuisine brand, and we know that they want more than just new flavors—they want transparency around ingredients and they are seeking new approaches.” 

For the remainder of the year, Lean Cuisine will be focusing on its Marketplace line, which has updated packaging featuring a bold, new look of striking colors and modern graphics reflecting the cuisine found inside, say company officials. New items include Vermont White Cheddar Mac & Cheese and Sweet & Spicy Korean-Style Beef.      

Also along the healthy eating front, ConAgra has introduced Healthy Choice Simply Café Steamers entrées available in 10 varieties, four of which are low-carb.

“The low-carb meals answer the call of consumers requesting Café Steamers with more protein and veggies and less white, starchy carbs,” says David Koehler, associate brand manager, Healthy Choice, at ConAgra Foods. “Unlike other frozen meals, Healthy Choice Café Steamers feature a special tray-in-tray steam cooking method that separates ingredients during heating, using steam to not only cook the food, but unlock freshness that can be seen and tasted,” he adds. 

Ruiz Foods has been a mainstay in the freezer case with its El Monterey brand since 1964. The Dinuba, Calif.-based company is capitalizing on the growing popularity of Mexican food and the breakfast segment by introducing El Monterey Breakfast Roll-Ups, launching this month in Egg and Cheese and Maple Flavored Egg and Sausage varieties.

“Research shows hot breakfasts with hearty ingredients like scrambled eggs help kids perform better in school,” says Rachel P. Cullen, president and CEO of Ruiz Foods. “Moms appreciate the opportunity for portion control as each Roll-Up is 2.5 ounces, the Roll-Ups are ready in minutes right out of the microwave, and that it is a hand-held breakfast option for families on-the-go.”   

Sandwich Bros. is a new 10-SKU line from Kangaroo Brands. “All sandwiches are made with premium meats, cheeses and artisan flatbread pockets,” says Salem Kashou, COO and marketing director at Kangaroo Brands, based in Milwaukee. “Our sandwiches typically contain 60 percent protein and 40 percent bread, which is uncommon for hand-held frozen sandwiches. And health-conscious consumers really like the fact that our flatbread pocket is not greasy, crumbly or laden with fats.”

Fresher than fresh

Consumers looking for healthier seafood choices are finding the frozen scallop products from Clearwater to be quite the catch. “When consumers choose Clearwater products, they’re choosing high-quality, wild and sustainable-sourced seafood,” says Jeff Duffin, global vice president marketing, Clearwater Seafoods, based in Bedford, N.S., Canada. “The seafood sold in our frozen value-added products is often fresher than the seafood sold at the ‘fresh seafood’ counter. The scallops used in both our Bacon Wrapped Scallops and Scallops & Sauce are frozen at sea—harvested onboard our vessels and individually quick-frozen within an hour of catch.”         

Barber Foods entered the stuffed chicken breast category more than 45 years ago but this year updated the brand’s look and ingredients.

“In addition to improved oven performance, we created new techniques that deliver a more flavorful breast of chicken, crispier home-style breading and a better, saucier filling,” says Bob Howard, vice president of retail marketing at parent company AdvancePierre Foods, based in Cincinnati. “Extensive product testing and research have shown that, despite being a frozen, prepared item, consumers still liken Barber stuffed chicken breast products to home cooking.”    

While Barber Foods has been in business for 60 years, Mistica Foods, established in May 2014, is a newcomer to the frozen chicken category. Its newest product is Jim Beam Boneless, Breaded Chicken Wyngz with Honey Bourbon Sauce. “Bourbon is a trending profile and back in December we signed a 10-year agreement with Jim Beam and are representing Jim Beam for all of their proteins,” says Monika Rose Walas, president, Mistica Foods, based in Addison, Ill. “Jim Beam likes having authenticity and requires that their product be actually used as an ingredient.” 

CP Foods is a $12 billion Thailand-based company gaining a toehold in American freezer cases with its authentic barbecue pork and Japanese-style fried chicken made domestically in Georgia with U.S.-grown proteins and imported spices.

“With our pork we cut it the way they do in Asia,” says Ed Ratanabanchuen, assistant vice president, sales and marketing at CP Foods, whose U.S. offices are in Columbia, Md. “Our ingredients are also different because we source all of our spices and other raw ingredients from Asia and import them into the U.S.”

When it comes to chicken, CP Foods manufactures Chicken Tatsuta-age. “It is unique because there are more steps in making this product than Karaage fried chicken, the more common Japanese-style fried chicken sold in restaurants,” Ratanabanchuen says.

In the frozen pizza case Smart Flour Foods is slicing up its niche by marketing pies made with gluten-free crusts of ancient grains—sorghum, amaranth and teff— and no preservatives, and uncured, antibiotic-free meats.

“Freezing is our preservative agent,” says Sameer Shah, vice president of marketing at Smart Flour Foods, based in Austin, Texas. “It is a minimally processed product. You put it in the oven and have a meal in 12-14 minutes. In the past, a frozen product that could offer that had tons of preservatives, chemicals and unpronounceable things in it.”   

Innovation has also come to two of the oldest frozen categories—fruit and juices.

Oregon Fruit Products has been canning dark specialty fruits since 1935, and one of its more popular foodservice items is Fruit in Hand frozen puree. Company officials created a consumer version called Oregon Pourable Fruit. “We didn’t set out for this to be a whole new category, but it turns out it is,” says Chris Sarles, CEO of Oregon Fruit Products, based in Salem, Ore.

Available in strawberry, raspberry and blueberry, Oregon Pourable Fruit is made with pure fruit lightly sweetened with cane sugar using a cold process that maintains its vivid color and flavor. It is packaged in 18-ounce juice-style bottles and merchandised in the frozen fruit case.

“Our three bottles take up the exact width of one bag of frozen fruit,” says Sarles. “Our bottle of $7.99 Oregon Pourable Fruit is trading up the consumer with higher margins than the bag of low-margin private label fruit it is replacing.”

The frozen juice set is enjoying a bit of a renaissance as consumers rediscover its convenience, affordability and long-term storage benefits, say officials with Old Orchard Brands. The Sparta, Mich.-based manufacturer is revitalizing the category with innovative products like Watermelon/Cucumber and Tart Cherry Lemonade, a line of Chai Tea and Margarita, Strawberry Daiquiri and Piña Colada mixer concentrates.

“There is a new breed of buyers looking to reduce SKU duplication with innovative products that can bring new consumers to the frozen aisle,” says Kevin Miller, vice president of marketing for Old Orchard Brands. “We introduced a line of fruit and vegetable blends in concentrate last year called Fruit & Veggie that hits the better-for-you attributes that consumers are looking for today. It is taking a trend that exists outside the category—shelf-stable fruit and vegetable blends—and interpreting it in a new way so that it’s available in the frozen case for the first time,” Miller says.