Come and get it

Prepared Foods, March, 2003 by Gina Kuhn

* Prepared meals evolve.

* Consumers can create meals with varying levels of involvement.

* Products for adults focus on convenience.

* Products for children add fun to mealtime.

Increased commutes and extended workdays are contributing to the popularity of prepared meals, which inherently provide consumers a convenient breakfast, lunch or dinner in just minutes. While convenience is certainly the main strength of many prepared meals, consumers also have shown interest in changing their monotonous eating habits by choosing foods with exotic and ethnic flavors.

Products for Children

Fifteen years ago, Oscar Mayer's, Madison, Wisc., Lunchables created a substantial market for children's lunch products. However, the meat, cheese and cracker kits of yesterday have given way to the taco, nacho, and pizza kits of today. The new products put the original selection to shame, luring children with intricate desserts, juice boxes and cartoon characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants. The Oscar Mayer Lunchables Make Your Own Magic kit even includes candy stampers to imprint magical shapes and symbols on bologna and encourages children to just "lick 'em, stamp 'em, eat 'em."

Although the selection is plentiful, many parents question the nutritional content of prepared meals. Yves Veggie Cuisine, Delta, British Columbia, Canada, is looking to change the segment with its Good Lunch Meal Kits that contain low levels of cholesterol, fat, and sodium. The company introduced the "I Love Veggies Turkey Kit," which includes meatless veggie turkey slices, crackers and cheese. Gerber, Fremont, Mich., introduced its Lil' Entrees shelf-stable meals in toddler-friendly varieties such as Pasta Wheel Pick-Ups & Chicken. The meals are ready after cooking them for 30 seconds in the microwave and contain no artificial preservatives, additives or colorants.

The Fisher Boy Confetti Fish Sticks from High Liner Foods, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada, were introduced to give children the best of both worlds. The fish sticks are covered with colorful confetti pieces to present an element of fun but are also claimed to be a good source of protein and to contain eight essential vitamins and minerals.

Office Eats

To avoid eating out everyday, many office employees attempt to bring a brown bag lunch from home--only to find it waiting in the refrigerator two weeks later, forgotten and inedible. New products with an extended shelf-life may put an end to smelly tuna and moldy bread, or at least delay the problem a bit. Fun Fresh Concepts, Chicago, experimented with the trend by introducing a line of convenient and long-lasting Oriental Pasta Cups that boast a refrigerated shelf life of 30 days, allowing the product to be lost from memory for quite some time. The company also set out to prove that prepared lunches are not just for children anymore with its "adult" Santa Fe Salad Bowls and Turkey & Swiss Sandwich Kit with a focaccia roll, tortilla chips, and creme cookies.

Campbell's, Camden, N.J., Soup at Hand is another hassle-free lunch product that includes a "sipping lid" to avoid the need for utensils, which can be scarce in the office. The product requires about one minute in the microwave and does not require refrigeration--greatly reducing the risk of losing your lunch to the overcrowded communal fridge.

Frozen to Perfection

Health-conscious consumers can breathe easy-the selection of prepared nutritious meals continues to increase considerably. In fact, with giants such as Stouffer's, Solon, Ohio; ConAgra, Omaha, Neb.; and Weight Watchers, Woodbury, N.Y., leading the way, the endless variety could leave consumers shivering in the frozen foods aisle. Healthy products also are becoming more plentiful, and sophisticated flavors can be found in a number of frozen meals. For example, the Lean Cuisine Mediterranean Chicken meal from Stouffer's includes tomato sauce, black olives, butternut squash, sun dried tomatoes, dried peppers, and accents of garlic and olive oil--an ingredient list typically rattled off by restaurant waiters, not frozen dinner packages.

Although interesting flavors and ingredients break the monotony of everyday meals, some may ask, "What happened to simple foods like mashed potatoes?" For those of us who prefer comfort foods, National Harvest, Kansas City, Mo., introduced Super Stuffers low-fat frozen baked potato meals. The "Fully Loaded" meal is ready to eat in seven minutes and includes one large baked potato stuffed with sour cream, cheddar, bacon and chives.

For the male consumer looking for a quick dinner after work, Swansons, Deerfield, Ill., introduced a number of frozen meals under the Hungry Man XXL label, with portion sizes three times larger than the low-fat products found in the same section. In fact, the Backyard Barbeque meal contains over a pound of chicken, pork and mashed potatoes per package, which should certainly please even the largest appetite. For the consumer in search of a frozen meal with a kind word, Mary Ellen's Blessings at Home frozen entrees from Request Foods, Holland, Mich., claim to have a "Blessing enclosed to share with your family." To accent the warm feeling, the line includes traditional family favorites such as Old Fashioned Meat Loaf, Homestyle Turkey, and Lasagna Lovers Lasagna.