18 Sep Ones to Watch: Frozen meals retain their cool
Frozen dishes are having a moment and it’s a beautiful thing. Ever the freezer staple, it’s now enjoying a fresh wave of attention as brands bring great quality ingredients, bolder flavours and even more choice to the frozen aisle.
The new wave is less “what’s in the freezer?” and more “what can I make in 15 minutes?” – with quality, nutrition and taste taking centre stage.
Take Richmond, which made its debut in frozen ready meals earlier this year with six comforting British classics, including Sausage & Mash, Toad in the Hole, Cottage Pie and Sausage Mac & Cheese. The move feels like a natural next step for the brand, which is no stranger to Product of the Year, winning an award in 2020 for its meat-free sausages. Now, Richmond is bringing its brand of family-friendly comfort food to the freezer. These are dishes that could take pride of place on any dinner table.
A lean, muscular option. This next one packs a punch with a nutritious option that will have you doing 10 extra press-ups. Gym Kitchen’s High Protein range includes frozen Mac & Cheese, Chicken Pesto and BBQ Chicken Pasta, with some meals packing up to 64g of protein per pack. Crucially, the latest range can be pan-cooked straight from frozen in around 15 minutes. Score.
And frozen isn’t just about meals you heat and eat. Ice Kitchen is putting the freezer to work as a shortcut to from-scratch cooking, with perfectly portioned cooking pastes available through Waitrose. Thai Green Curry, Tikka Masala and Massaman Curry pastes are made with fresh ingredients and frozen at their peak – meaning less waste, no forgotten half-jar lurking in the fridge, and plenty of flavour on tap. Spice is nice when fresh from the freezer.
The frozen ready meal has matured and today, it’s an easy, no fuss and minimal mess option. Consumers have more choice than ever so budding brands must balance flavour, appearance, ingredients and price to please a nation of ready meal eaters. Fortunately, there’s an abundance of choice at our fingertips.
Think you’ve got something that’s even better than these products? Time is ticking to get entries in for the next Product of the Year awards. You know what to do.