Rounding up the Frozen Food & Cold Chain Trends of 2022

At the beginning of 2022, we discussed the frozen food trends of 2021 and made our predictions of how the frozen food aisles and cold chain sector would evolve in 2022. We suggested that the plant-based food category would evolve even further and not only be limited to the frozen aisle but would have a frequent and dominant presence in ambient and chilled aisles.

Better Value & Fresher Frozen Alternatives

Flash forward to the end of 2022 and reports suggest the sales boost of frozen foods have now returned to that of pre-pandemic levels. That being said, consumers are now facing other disturbances, such as the rise in fuel and energy prices, which may push consumers towards better value frozen alternatives, such as poultry, fruit and vegetables.

As for plant-based products, the category continues to develop in new and exciting ways and there is a new entrant coming into the spotlight; cultivated meat. Although the protein is yet to hit national supermarkets, many start-up food manufacturers are developing processes to develop the food product in bulk at an affordable price.

A Focus on Sustainability

Following last year’s COP26 and this year’s COP27 conference, many food manufacturers and providers of cold chain solutions have begun a transition towards lower carbon emissions or at least outlined a path toward Net Zero as part of a broader ESG policy. As a result, both food manufacturers and consumers are seeking sustainable alternatives, and greater visibility and traceability in their supply chains.

For food retailers, this means a greater focus on sustainability and carbon reporting procedures as part of their buying process, and for manufacturers, a great deal of work on NPD that utilises less plastic and more resilient and renewable ingredients.

Food manufacturers are increasingly interested in seeking sustainable cold storage suppliers and there has been a noticeable change in the working relationship between food manufacturers and cold chain suppliers in developing sustainable supply chains.

Minimizing Cost & Reducing Waste with Magnavale

At Magnavale we work closely with our customers to tailor their cold chain needs. As a primary service, we offer cold storage solutions across multiple temperature regimes, however, we have an extended selection of services, such as blast freezing, up-tempering, contract packing, and date coding, to just name a few. We have designed these services to make it easier for our customers. Traditionally cold stores offered solely cold storage, but over the years we have tailored our services to reflect our customer’s needs which has huge benefits regarding cost savings and reducing food waste.

If you are interested in cold storage or would like to learn more about reducing costs and food waste in your supply chain, make an enquiry below or call 01246 858915