Frozen ready meals have given consumers a way to have new experiences despite COVID-19 restrictions. Indian cuisine is seeing a particular boon, according to a survey commissioned by US-based Deep Indian Kitchen. The company has an especially strong focus on Millennial consumers, driven by social media. 

“While frozen food was already experiencing a renaissance of sorts, reduced access to restaurants and fast-casual businesses due to the COVID-19 outbreak has caused demand to soar,” Kiernan Laughlin, general manager of Deep Indian Kitchen and executive director of sales and marketing at Deep Foods, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

This, in turn, has led to the consumption of more frozen staples and frozen international products while people stay safe at home and seek products that have long shelf lives.  

He observes that at the beginning of the pandemic, many US consumers gravitated to familiar comfort foods and bought more frozen overall, including global flavors to fill the restaurant void. As the pandemic wore on, they began looking for global flavors even more to satisfy their need for variety and to cure wanderlust.  

“While sales growth across frozen has decelerated as the pandemic progressed, our velocity has been accelerating as trial, repeat and social sharing of our products increases,” Laughlin continues. 

A strong desire 
During March and May of this year, a YouGov survey commissioned by Deep Indian Kitchen gathered the opinions of over 2,000 US adults.

It revealed that the demand for ready-made frozen foods and authentic international flavors is soaring and continues to grow as the need for convenience, flavor variety and wanderlust satisfaction have become top priorities.

Notably, chicken tikka masala is the second most craved international dish. US consumers who eat Indian food most often credit its good taste (76 percent) and its variety of new flavors that deliver a change of pace from their normal routine (60 percent).

Intimidated consumers
Despite this appetite for Indian food, 49 percent of those surveyed only eat Indian food a few times a year at most.

More than two-thirds of the respondents cited at least one of the following factors as a barrier to home consumption:

• Lack of authentic options.
• Difficult to find and buy.
• Hard to prepare well.
• Unfamiliar with ingredients, recipes or cooking techniques.
• Restaurants make it better.

“Many consumers travel to experience new cuisines, but they also want to experience them when they are home. Frozen dishes are convenient for people who are leading increasingly busy lives but still want to experience authentic, restaurant-quality Indian dishes,” says Laughlin. 

He understands that Indian food can be intimidating for novice chefs to recreate in their home kitchens. “Our frozen foods help make the experience more approachable while maintaining the authenticity consumers are seeking from an outing at a restaurant or in India.”

Millennial appeal
According to Laughlin, Indian cuisine – and in particular consumer products – continues to gain momentum within the Millennial category due to its inherent bold, robust and complex flavors. This is a huge driver for a generation focused on adventurous culinary experiences. 

Notably, using the frozen aisle to explore global flavors has been a growing trend with Millennials for several years since they are adventurous, enjoy new experiences and also lead very busy lifestyles.  

Further supporting today’s relevancy within the segment, Indian diets traditionally utilize spices, such as turmeric, ginger and cumin, which are being recognized for their health and wellness benefits, he continues. 

“We are targeting all Millennials and foodies interested in experiencing authentic Indian cuisine, and that, of course, includes those of Indian heritage with busy lives seeking convenience,” Laughlin adds. 

Instagrammable appeal
The company positions the meals as “perfectly addressing” Millennial demands, prompting consumers to share recommendations with their friends on social media. 

Notably, the YouGov survey also revealed that 62 percent of US consumers look to recommendations from friends to inform international food choices. This is further magnified by consumer desire to share unique, exciting and delicious foodie images on social media.

Laughlin anticipates that frozen aisle exploration will continue, even as the US begins to emerge from the pandemic. “Consumers have learned that they can find authentic, restaurant-quality meals in the frozen aisle and are eager to continue to try new flavors or flavors their friends recommend on social media.”

onward trajectory
Notably, Deep Indian Kitchen’s Instagram following has grown over 150 percent YTD, driven by consumer interest and excitement to learn more. 

According to newly released sales on the company’s largest digital sales platform, Deep Indian Kitchen is in 500 percent more households now than in Q1 2020. “This number continued to grow by more than 24 percent from Q4 2020 to Q1 2021, even as we lap early pandemic buying trends.”

He forecasts that growing interest in exploring international cuisine will drive expanded attention to specialties like chickpea masala, samosas and chicken vindaloo, among others.