Richard J. George, Ph.D.

FDBuyer: Isn't it time that frozen food came out of the Ice Age?

April 16, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Unlike the rest of the food departments, frozen has the ability to be a total store within itself. But few if any retailers lay out the department this way. Frozen food is a key piece of real estate that's not paying its way. Is the quality of frozen food on par with products in other departments in the store?      [more...]

Unfortunately, food retailers still think in terms of aisles or categories as opposed to thinking of "what's for dinner tonight?" Ironically, while the restaurant business has suffered from the current economic woes, especially the impact of unemployment, food retail meals have not grown significantly. If food retail thought more in terms of meals, the opportunity to bundle frozen, with fresh products--including produce and bakery, would give consumers a reason to visit the frozen aisle.

While I applaud efforts to improve what's in the frozen package, I believe we are missing a real opportunity by treating frozen simply as a department or aisle.