Now that the Covid-19 situation is easing, restaurant operators are beginning to see the light of hope for recovery. Adding to their optimism, the country is reopening and the outlook for tourism arrivals in the second half of 2022 is positive.
According to a survey of restaurant trends, “making a difference by creating signature menus” is a key point that will get businesses back on track post-Covid-19.
Hence, with the aim to differentiate from others, restaurant owners are seeking new food trends and creative sources of materials, including frozen foods and ready-to-cook materials. The current market value of frozen food and ready-to-cook ingredients is 18-20 billion baht, with average annual growth of 12%-14%.
Frozen food demand rising
Currently, the proportions of frozen foods and fresh foods is only slightly different, as demand for both keeps rising. Previously, restaurant operators rarely used frozen foods as cooking materials, doubting their freshness. But actually, thanks to advanced freezing processes, frozen foods are now of as high quality and as fresh as fresh food and retain the original taste when cooked. In other words, the future of frozen food is hot!
Moreover, the growing popularity among new generations of opening coffee and bakery shops has led to satisfactory growth in a group of imported products especially ready-to-cook frozen bakeries. It can be said that making bakeries is not that difficult anymore. All you have to do is visit a hub of raw materials like Makro or other major material importers that have ready-to-cook foods that make business easy to manage. For example, frozen croissants and cakes can be used to create hundreds of signature menus. As outlet owners don’t need to invest in a lot of kitchen equipment, they can save 30-40% in startup costs, heralding a new trend for food operators looking to manage their business with agility.
Serving seafood ingredients from all over the world
In serving seafood ingredients, freshness is vital but it also entails high logistics costs. Therefore, fresh materials from all over the world that are frozen in a way that maintains the natural freshness reduces costs. This gives operators access to cost-effective materials from original sources that have the same quality and freshness as fresh food. Examples include lobster shrimp, giant king crab, abalone and many more that can be used in creating fine-dining and signature menus for restaurants.
Rising trend of imported frozen meat
Besides seafood, frozen meat is another area gaining popularity as widely varied kinds of meats and sources of production become available. Makro serves as a sales channel for meats from five important sources around the world. Outlets offer over 2,000 frozen meat items from around the globe in different price ranges. Among them are A5 Japanese Wagyu, Australian MS 8/9 ranging from 200 grammes upwards. Prices range from 200-5,000 baht per kilogramme. Hence, a wide variety of meat products are available at Makro for operators to choose from, strengthening Thailand’s image as a hub of premium foods in preparation for welcoming foreign tourists back to Thailand, especially in major tourism destinations such as Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai.
So, the frozen food trend is meeting the demands of restaurant and eatery operators looking to streamline and be agile. Hence, frozen food producers and importers are positioning themselves as solution to the new normal.