Brian Young, director general of the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF) made the call after publication of the The Horizons Review of the Year 2012, which concludes that the foodservice and eating out market is in good shape for 2013.
He said: “In the foodservice sector we are hoping that more operators will take advantage of frozen this year as they look to try to restore margins, improve the important bottom line and attempt to combat the impact of a struggling economy.
“In this tough economic climate, there is a compelling business case for operators using frozen food to help reduce their overheads.
“In terms of cost savings for food service operators, our own independent research shows that chain restaurants, managed pubs and cost sector operators can save an average of 24% buying in ready-made meals, rather than making a duplicate recipe from scratch.”
The Horizons Report uses past industry data to predict the outlook for the ‘out of home’ market. The new shows the strength and resilience of the industry despite the current tough economic climate and where consumers are spending less when eating out as they continue to feel the pressure on household budgets.
It states that the eating out market recorded a nominal increase of 1.5% to 2% in 2012, compared to 2011, however the climate continued to challenge foodservice operators.
Young said that despite a struggling UK economy impacting on the food industry as a whole, in particular in foodservice, frozen food had continued to buck the trend as the financial, nutritional and quality benefits of using frozen had increasingly been recognised.
“The nature of frozen allows caterers to provide a wide range of enticing dishes to encourage custom but also requires lower levels of skill to prepare and unused ingredients can be stored safely until they are needed rather than thrown away.
“Buying frozen saves money because of competitive and stable food prices, the ability to control portion sizes and wastage, reduced utilities use and the opportunity to cut labour costs. This will help businesses reduce their overheads, produce more accurate pricing models and protect their profits.
“And we encourage more and more foodservice operators to take full advantage of frozen this year.”