How ready to eat

mixes be marketed
better?

AUGUST 5

Great Lakes Institute of Management

Authored by: Akshay Garg
DM 20204

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Introduction
Ready to Eat Food

Foods that have been prepared so they can be consumed as is, without any additional cooking,
are ready to eat foods. Ready to eat foods can be refrigerated, shelf-stable, require minimal
heating or are served hot. Ready to eat foods have specific guidelines to ensure that there is no
contamination or chance of bacteria forming after the foods have already been prepared. It
includes baked Goods, Meat and animal products which are shelf-stable foods and have gone
through safety regulation.
(Billings-Smith, 2018)

History
First ready to eat food was manufactured in the 19th century. It was used for military purposes,
as tin can were easy to transport easily to the battlefield and the solders can prepare them.
Its major use was established in World War II when soldiers ration contained tins of meat and
straws to keep them going.
(The rise of ready meals and how convenience food changed our lives, 2018)

The 1950s: TV Dinner

The first commercial of ready to eat food was marketed as TV Dinner when Gerald Thomas
made his own line of ready to eat food from the left-over turkey, with potatoes and vegetables.
Swanson named this as TV Dinner, by marketing as convenient food that can be eaten while
watching television. Americans brought 10 million TV dinners in the 1 st year.
(The rise of ready meals and how convenience food changed our lives, 2018)

The 1970s: Microwave meals

In Britain, ready to eat food started their journey in 1970. In Britain, people have refrigerators
(domestic freezers), so that brands started to carter and manufacture according to this new
technology. Birdseye fish fingers and Findus Crispy Pancakes become the mealtime staples
complemented by frozen desserts such as Viennetta, Arctic Rolls and Black Forest Gateau.
(The rise of ready meals and how convenience food changed our lives, 2018)

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Rise of Ready-to-eat food

By the 1980s family life was changing, with an ever-rising number of working women. More
and more families turned to frozen ready meals for a hot, tasty dinner you could cook in just
three minutes.
(The rise of ready meals and how convenience food changed our lives, 2018)

The 1990s: New Flavors

When many countries started to open their markets, food was one of the things that travelled a
lot. People were able to enjoy more of the cruise such as Thai and Mexicans food, but people
were not able to create them in their houses. Canned foods company were first to understand
these needs and provide the customer with the food that they require.
(The rise of ready meals and how convenience food changed our lives, 2018)

Modern Day Meal

Today, there is much more need for the nutritious content of the foods. Today people want ready
to eat food that is full of flavour, suit their dietary need, provide a good alternative to freshly
prepared food, have health benefits and not have the allergic content in them.
(The rise of ready meals and how convenience food changed our lives, 2018)

Ready to Eat
Ready to Eat (RTE) food came to India in 1987. Initially, they were not got a good response
from the people, but recently it started gaining popularity among the Indian consumers because
o increasing income level and hectic lifestyle of the people. In the global market, the demand for
Indian food is much more as compared to Indian domestic. People earn a significant share of
revenue by export.
According to the data provided by the Department of Industrial Policies and Promotion (DIPP),
the food processing sector in India has received around 7.54 billion worth of Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) during the period April 2000 – March 2017. The Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) estimates that the food processing sectors have the potential to attract as much as
US$ 33 billion of investment over the next 10 years and also to generate employment of nine
million person-days.

Some of the major investments in this sector in the recent past are:
 Parle Agro Pvt Ltd is launching Frooti Fizz, a succession of the original Mango Frooti,
which will be retailed across 1.2 million outlets in the country as it targets increasing its

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 annual revenue from Rs 2800 crore (US$ 0.42 billion) to Rs 5000 crore (US$ 0.75 billion)
by 2018.
 US-based food company Cargill Inc aims to double its branded consumer business in
India by 2020, by doubling its retail reach to about 800,000 outlets and increase market
share to become a national leader in the sunflower oil category which will help the
company be among the top three leading brands in India.
 Mad Over Donuts (MoD), outlined plans of expanding its operations in India by opening
nine new MOD stores by March 2017.
 Danone SA plans to focus on nutrition business in India, its fastest-growing market in
South Asia, by launching 10 new products in 2017 and aiming to double its revenue in
India by 2020.

(Indian Food Processing, 2017)

MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Rooms)

MTR Foods is a food product company, headquartered in Bangalore, India. It is a subsidiary of

Norwegian conglomerate Orkla. The turnover of the company is 9 billion in 2018. Spice
generally account for 38 per cent of the company total’s revenue while ready mix accounts for
30 per cent. Among the rest, Vermicelli accounts for 15 per cent and ready-to-eat about 7 per
cent. Sales are going at a faster rate of annual 12per cent. MTR got certified in Hazard Analysis
Critical Control Point (HACCP) certification for safety and hygiene. MTR Foods is producing

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hygienic and safety food to consumers for their needs. they have identified the needs of
consumers and to be produced tasty, more flavors in the products.

(Mohapatra, 2018) (A. Jafersadhiq, 2016)

ITC Foods
ITC was the first companies in the instant foods product segment. It produces various flavour
and taste according to the consumer demands. The taste and the flavour is up-to the mark of
consumer needs and wants.
(A. Jafersadhiq, 2016)

Shakti Masala
Shakti Trading Company was started in 1975, by Mr. P.C. Duraissamy. Initially started as
exporter of turmeric in perineuria near erodes. Later he expanded the business by exporting other
masalas and chili powder. He used easy to cook concept rather than marketing food products.
The company is now well expanded in spices segment and exporter to various countries
satisfying the need of the customer.

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Success of the company lies in their operational factors, as initially there were no well-defined
equipment’s when the company started. But later as the demand increased, and with the new
technology, they were able to carter the customer.
(A. Jafersadhiq, 2016)

Aachi Foods
Aachi foods was founded in 1995 by Mr. A.D. Padmasingh. It is more famous in region of Tamil
Nadu, India. The valuation of company is 270 crores, producing 130 products and various
flavour to the customer. Anil, Sakthi Vinayaga, is the famous brand of Tamil Nadu. The success
of Aachi is excellent quality and survey of customers.

The researchers have identified the major segment of instant foods products which are in while
use in the study area. These segments include:
1. Noodles
2. Tiffin varieties
3. Gravy Items
4. Rice Items
(A. Jafersadhiq, 2016)

SWOT ANALYSIS
Strength
 Growing disposable income in the hands of the consumers and their fast lifestyle.
 The initiative taken by the Government for developing the food processing industry and
the companies expressing an interest in producing instant food products.
Weaknesses
 The instant Food industry is less developed in India than other Countries because of the
logistics and distribution problems.
 Modern Infrastructure facilities for the storage of these processed food is yet to be
developed in India.
Opportunities
 The growing young population of India, who are always seeking innovative products and
brands with high quality.
 The growing number of women in the work force and lack of time for cooking has created
a demand for these products.
Threats
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  The growing health concerns of the people create a threat for the instant food Products
which may include more unhealthy ingredients and preservatives.
 Locally available brands create a threat for the bigger branded giants.
(A. Jafersadhiq, 2016)

Understanding the people perceptive for ready to eat foods

Form this chart,

people busy in their
work prefer to buy
readymade foods to
save time. The
other people
change their food
style by the cultural
factors. The
remaining people
like tasty and easy
cooking style.

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47 of persons preferred the product for easy to cook to save the time. The 41 respondents they
attracted by the good packaging. 38 respondents attracted by the special offers. Most of the
peoples preferred by the taste factor. 20 persons are convinced by the buying due to non-
availability of some ingredients. Remaining 17 persons are do not spend the time to read the
ingredients and expiry date and all.

Through these chart 128

respondents they had
awareness about instant food
products by advertisements
and remaining of 72
respondents they not aware
about instant foods

(A. Jafersadhiq, 2016)

Marketing Aspect

Many food retailers perceive home meal replacements (HMR) or meal solution as major
oppurnitity for sales growth. These fully- or partially-prepared foods appear to solve growing
consumer needs: lack of time, lack of skill, and lack of desire to prepare food. Many supermarket
operators believe that if they sold more items that reduced or eliminated the consumer’s need to
cook at home, they could regain some food dollars they have recently lost to foodservice
providers.

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 From Table 2, it shows, the
consumption practice of
RTE. It shows, that they
were mainly motivated out
of convenience (50.7%).
Most people purchase the
foods items from
supermarket or discount
marts, with people may
spending from ₹300-500 on
these food items. These
items are mostly preferred
by family and friends
mostly during supper or
between meals. The
interesting fact is most
common source of
information is from direct
comparisons at the place of
purchase.
(Ryu, 2010)

Some Success Stories

Saffola Masala Oats
 Marico’s Saffola Masala Oats was a good initiative that was successful due to multiple
reasons:
o Spicy taste that suits the Indian palette
o Hot meal

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 o Convenient and less time
o Healthy
 They went one step further than Quaker oats and customized it for the Indian market
 They were able to do something even international giants like Kellogg’s were unable to
do

Pillsbury Idli Cake

 This cake mix solved the issue of the lack of sufficient equipment for the majority of
Indian households
 They made the involvement higher as mixing is still an activity
 Further they made mix in an egg-less variant to suit the vegetarians

Maggi
 This is probably the largest RTC success story in the Indian context
 It is an RTC that increased the involvement by including the tastemaker
 Further they used very family-oriented stories in their ad campaigns
 They also show that various vegetables and other ingredients can be used in order to
increase involvement and personalize the meal

Marketing Strategy of MTR

 Currently, MTR have acquired Rasoi Magic, a Western company to gain insight into that
market as they are predominantly present in South India
 Marketing Focus change the company from product centric to geography perspective with
increase in investments in advertising and marketing. MTR have doubled its expenditure
on its marketing for aggressive promotion to national and regional level.
 As part of the branding strategy, MTR is modernizing it brand and image to appeal the
millennials consumer more.
 Rasoi Magic, is using the television and print platform for a mass reach.
 Video demonstrations are being created in order to help the customer understand the
usage of the product.
 In order to increase Brand Equity and Brand Recall for its RTEs, MTR has been
organizing and sponsoring Magic Shows and Theatre Performances in Karnataka. They
visit the performances before and after the show and dole out free samples of their
products

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  To tap the young consumers, MTR Foods thought out of the box and conceptualized one
of the plays in the Pre-University curriculum (Eklavya) onto a DVD and screened it at
various college campuses. This made learning easy for students and helped etch its brand
presence among them.

Analysis of Advertisements
MTR Foods uses a combination of emotional appeal, the fun element and nostalgia to cater to
their audience. They often use the role of the mother as a metaphor for good taste, safety, health
and compare their products to “Maa ke haath ka khaana”
 In this ad, MTR targeted the home people for
the Sunday special event, which communicate,
that making different dishes at the same moment
of time.

 The Upma Ma ad was a

popular one where the mother
appears while her son is making
the Upma. This really evokes a
feeling of nostalgia as well as
draws a comparison between a
mother’s food and MTR’s RTE
mix. This uses a metaphor of a mother and home cooked food.

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  Ancient Indian battle was high on humor
appeals to get the attention of the customer.

 The below ad uses

emotional appeal and nostalgia to
the product. This ad once again
uses a metaphor of a mother and
her secret recipe for sambar. This
ad also has a humorous appeal.

 The below print ad for MTR 3-minute

breakfasts uses a rational appeal. We also
see an improvement in their packaging.

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In these two advertisements, MTR is able to target the meal menu of the family. By choosing
the family setting, and the child eat, they are putting the trust, safety and as good as homemade
food. 40% more vegetables, indicate that the company, is communicating/educating that the
product is better and beneficial for the people.

Personality Theory
 Variety seeking nature – The generation of Millennials requires variety of product and
flavour, so by having large line of MTR, keep them interested.
 Need for uniqueness – The need for uniqueness can be catered to by showcasing that the
product can be made unique by adding different products, example carrot idli.
 Ethnocentrism – Ethnocentric consumers can be targeted by drawing a parallel scenario
of western fast foods that are gaining popularity and showcasing the benefits of eating the
MTR (Indian) food versus them.
1. Appeals
 Cognitive Appeal –
o Time – Time is the major constrain in the today’s world. People require to spend
as much less time as they could.
o Health – With the current education and network, the major concern come into
the food packaging and adding of the preservatives. This can be removed by
educating the customer more through advertisements, by following the safety norm
held by the government and by providing transparency to the product.
 Emotional Appeal –
o Foods industry have always good in cratering this segment by providing nostalgic
feeling to the product. By using advertisement with title “Ma ke haath ka Swad”.
 Fun Appeal –
o Humor is being use to attract more views to the advertisements so as increase the
brand visibility. This is always required as RTE is a utilitarian product.

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 o They can also increase the sales by providing a fun factor in the process of making
food, as Kellogg’s did with the breakfast advertisement.
2. ZMET
Current metaphors used are the mother and the goddess – for home food and provider. They
could use metaphors for both convenience and health. By providing a glimpse in the daily
working life of a person, they can mentally encode their message of use of the product.

3. ELM
 Since MTR RTEs have some definite advantages, they should use a moderate fear appeal
which would raise the involvement of the consumer. This would be using the central route
for maximum customer engagement.
 By having competition such as Master Chef at local, and regional levels, with the use of
the product, MTR will be able solidify its message of RTE in homes as in advertisement.
 The use of fear can be amplified by providing the customer the health hazard of eating
local eateries, and their comparison of their product.
4. Diffusion
 Relative Advantage – the relative advantage with respect to convenience, health, variety,
taste should be displayed. Also, the contrast to eating out could be brought in as well
 Compatibility – since the foods are traditional in nature the compatibility is high. Further
increasing involvement in making the product would increase the interest of the women
 Observability – these products are fairly low on observability during consumption
 Trialability – trial packs containing different various varieties would be useful
 Complexity – since the product is less complex the rate of diffusion will be high
5. Involvement
 In order to appeal to the Indian women, they should increase the involvement by
o Increasing the number of ingredients that the consumer could add.
o Adding extra masala, so people are able to use according to their requirement.
o Suggest ways in which they could personalize the recipe.
6. Packaging
 Currently most of the RTEs are present in laminates and retort packing
 They could use the idea of cup noodles or upma and use containers that can be directly
microwaved or heated and the product eaten in the same container

Current Trends
The global frozen food market is highly fragmented and consists of a large number of small and
medium-scale manufacturers. In this highly dynamic industry, distribution plays a very

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important role which leads to success. Most of the industry participants have been relying on
third-party distributors to reach their target customers. In addition, private labels occupied more
than 10% of the market share in 2012 which act as the major challenge for the international
players to enter and establish themselves at regional levels. The major trends identified in the
sector include exhibitions and events, high focus on export, adaptation of new technologies,
innovative promotional techniques, gaining special attention in retail format stores, retailers
going for private label RTE meals, launching innovative and region-specific products and frozen
RTE products gaining popularity.
(Ready To Eat Food, n.d.)

Government Initiatives

Some of the major initiatives taken by the Government of India to improve the food processing
sector in India are as follows:
 The Government of India aims to boost growth in the food processing sector by
leveraging reforms such as 100 per cent Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the marketing
of food products and various incentives at central and state government level along with
a strong focus on supply chain infrastructure.
 In Union Budget 2017-18, the Government of India has set up a dairy processing infra
fund worth Rs 8,000 crore (US$ 1.2 billion).
 The Government of India has relaxed foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for the
sector, allowing up to 100 per cent FDI in food product e-commerce through automatic
route.
 The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) plans to invest around Rs 482
crore (US$ 72.3 million) to strengthen the food testing infrastructure in India, by
upgrading 59 existing food testing laboratories and setting up 62 new mobile testing labs
across the country.
 The Indian Council for Fertilizer and Nutrient Research (ICFNR) will adopt international
best practices for research in the fertiliser sector, which will enable farmers to get good
quality fertilisers at affordable rates and thereby achieve food security for the common
man.
 The Ministry of Food Processing Industries announced a scheme for Human Resource
Development (HRD) in the food processing sector. The HRD scheme is being
implemented through State Governments under the National Mission on Food Processing.
The scheme has the following four components:
o Creation of infrastructure facilities for degree/diploma courses in the food
processing sector
o Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP)

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 o Food Processing Training Centres (FPTC)
o Training at recognised institutions at State/National level

(Indian Food Processing, 2017)

Road Ahead

Going forward, the adoption of food safety and quality assurance mechanisms such as Total
Quality Management (TQM) including ISO 9000, ISO 22000, Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Points (HACCP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Hygienic Practices
(GHP) by the food processing industry offers several benefits. It would enable adherence to
stringent quality and hygiene norms and thereby protect consumer health, prepare the industry
to face global competition, enhance product acceptance by overseas buyers and keep the industry
technologically abreast of international best practices.

(Indian Food Processing, 2017)

Ready-to-cook (RTC) food segment

Conclusion
Form the consumer behavior, it is clear that occupational, cultural factors and taste influence the
consumers buying this product. They don’t like to spend time in cooking. RTE food market
segmentation based on food-related lifestyles can be applied to develop marketing strategies to
better meet consumers’ wants and needs, which in turn leads to consumer satisfaction and
increased sales of RTE foods. According to the market research by Kisang Ryu, the biggest
purchase motivator for RTE foods was convenience (50.7%). About 67.6% customer buy RTE
food from super mart or discount stores. And 70.5% brought RTE foods at meal times. Therefore,
manufacturers of RTE foods should develop proper one-portion size meals. In addition, the most
common source of purchasing information was direct comparison at the place of purchase
(64.6%). Therefore, marketers of RTE foods should implement sales promotions within product
sections of each store. Tradition seekers should be considered an important target market of RTE
foods. Despite modernization of society, as 58.5% of the respondents, the tradition seekers were
set in their eating patterns. It is very important to note that this study found that Indian still have
a tendency to consume RTE foods with tradition-minded purposes. Therefore, manufacturers of
RTE foods in India should try to develop traditional menu items.

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The following previous studies were performed based on socio-demographic characteristics and
the food-related lifestyles of consumers. Four consumers segments towards convenience foods,
such as “food connoisseurs (26%)”, “home meal preparers (25%)”, “kitchen evaders (26%)”,
and “convenience-seeking grazers (32%)”. In addition, divided six food-related lifestyle
segments for specialized foods, for example, “rational food consumer (24%)”, “adventurous
food consumer (17%)”, “careless food consumer (21%)”, “snacking food consumer (17%)”,
“conservative food consumer (12%)”, and “uninvolved food consumer (9%)”. The findings of
this study also reinforced the usefulness of consumers’ socio-demographic characteristics and
food-related lifestyle to better understand their different consumption patterns of RTE foods.
Demographic segmentation could be used as one of the main variables for the purposes of market
segmentation and targeting. According to the results of this study, more tradition seekers lived
with family as compared to the convenience seekers, and also had a greater proportion of
respondents with a high school education or lower. The convenience seekers were more likely
to live alone, and their average education level was significantly higher than that of the tradition
seekers.
(Ryu, 2010)
RTE food segment should focus more on the availability of the product in the retails store and
on the sales discount on order as motivators to have to customers buy the products. They are
required to main stream the traditional food in their products according to the regions, so that
people are able to enjoy the food during meal time.

References
A. Jafersadhiq, D. A. (2016). A Study on Consumer Buying Behaviour on Instant Food. Asian
Research Consortium, 993-1001.

Billings-Smith, L. (2018, December 27). What Is a Ready to Eat Food? Retrieved from
SFGATE: https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/ready-eat-food-10135.html

Indian Food Processing. (2017, August). Retrieved from IBEF:

https://www.ibef.org/industry/indian-food-industry.aspx

Mohapatra, D. (2018, 18 August). MTR to revamp business for faster revenue growth, aims to
grow sales by 12%. Retrieved from Business Standard: https://www.business-
standard.com/article/companies/mtr-to-revamp-business-for-faster-revenue-growth-
aims-to-grow-sales-by-12-118081800728_1.html

MTR Foods. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTR_Foods

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Ready To Eat Food. (n.d.). Retrieved from Market Research Report:
https://www.marketresearchreports.com/ready-eat-food

Ryu, K. (2010). Consumer behaviors towards ready-to-eat foods based on food-related

lifestyles in Korea. ResearchGate, 332-337.

The rise of ready meals and how convenience food changed our lives. (2018, May 10).
Retrieved from Wiltshire Farm Foods: https://www.wiltshirefarmfoods.com/blog/the-
rise-of-ready-meals-and-how-convenience-food-c

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