• Scope and Methodology
  
• Scope of Report
• Exclusions
• Report Methodology
• Retail Sales Top $19.6 Billion in 2003
• Table 1-1: U.S. Market for Ready Meals and Side Dishes, 1999-2008 (retail sales in millions of dollars)
• Market Composition
• Many Factors Favor Market Growth
• Major Marketers and Brands
• Marketer and Brand Shares
• The Competitive Situation
• Only a Handful of Major Advertisers
• Retail Trends
• Overview of Consumer Purchasing

Chapter 2: The Market

• Market Size and Growth
  
• Market Definition: Ready Meals/Side Dishes and Prepared Meal Components
• Exclusions
• Methodology for Sales Estimates
• Retail Sales Top $19.6 Billion in 2003
• Ready Meals/Side Dishes Category Approaches $10.0 Billion
• Figure 2-1: U.S. Market for Ready Meals and Side Dishes, 1999-2003 (retail sales in millions of dollars)
• Prepared Meal Components Category Nears $9.9 Billion
• Table 2-1: U.S. Market for Ready Meals and Side Dishes, 1999-2003 (retail sales in millions of dollars)
• Table 2-2: U.S. Retail Sales of Ready Meals & Side Dishes Category, 1999-2003 (in millions of dollars)
• Table 2-3: U.S. Retail Sales of Prepared Meal Components Category, 1999-2003 (in millions of dollars)
• Market Composition
  
• Retail Sales by Product Category
• Figure 2-2: Share of Ready Meals and Side Dishes Market by Category, 1999 vs. 2003 (percent)
• Supermarkets the Dominant Retail Outlet
• Figure 2-3: Share of Ready Meals and Side Dishes Market by Retail Channel, 2003 (percent)
• Market Trends
  
• Market Dynamics
• Demographic Trends
• Household Demographics: Less than 25% are Married with Children
• Women’s Work
• Parameters for Convenience
• Healthier Eating Fueling Growth
• Food Safety, No-Mess Cooking, Easy Clean-Up
• Competition from the Fast-Food Industry
• Competition from Across the Aisles
• New Products and Technological Advances Fuel Growth
• Aggressive Marketing
• Figure 2-4: Projected U.S. Retail Sales of Ready Meals and Side Dishes Market, 2003-2008 (in millions of dollars)
• Projected Market Growth
  
• Retail Sales Will Top $27.5 Billion by 2008
• Table 2-4: Projected U.S. Retail Sales of Ready Meals and Side Dishes Market, 2003-2008 (in millions of dollars)
• Table 2-5: Projected U.S. Retail Sales of Ready Meals & Side Dishes Category, 2003-2008 (in millions of dollars)
• Table 2-6: Projected U.S. Retail Sales of Prepared Meal Components Category, 2003-2008 (in millions of dollars)

Chapter 3: The Competitive Situation

• Marketers and Brands
  
• Competitors Large and Small
• Market Leaders
• Consumer Packaged Goods Marketers
• Meat Processors and Produce Growers/Distributors
• Significant Niche Marketers
• Some Items Retailed in Both Refrigerated and Frozen Formats
• Table 3-1: Selected U.S. Marketers of Ready Meals and Side Dishes
• Marketer and Brand Shares
  
• Methodology
• Dole, Fresh Express Control 74% of Fresh-Cut Salads Market
• Five-Way Food Fight in Refrigerated Dinner Entrees
• Oscar Mayer Lunchables Owns Refrigerated Lunch Kits Business
• Refrigerated Salad/Coleslaw Dominated by Private Label
• Packaged Fresh Spinach
• Advanced Fresh Concepts, Northern Star Lead Refrigerated Side Dishes
• Nestlé Leads Refrigerated Pastas
• Refrigerated Appetizers/Snack Rolls
• Refrigerated Breakfast Entrees
• ConAgra’s Gilardi Dominates Refrigerated Pizza
• Refrigerated Hand-Held Entrees
• Table 3-2: Top Marketers of Fresh-Cut Salad by IRI-Tracked Sales and Shares, 2003 (in millions of dollars)
• Table 3-3: Top Marketers of Refrigerated Entrees by IRI-Tracked Sales and Shares, 2003 (in millions of dollars)
• Table 3-4: Top Marketers of Refrigerated Lunch Kits by IRI-Tracked Sales and Shares, 2003 (in millions of dollars)
• Table 3-5: Top Marketers of Refrigerated Salad/Coleslaw by IRI-Tracked Sales and Shares, 2003 (in millions of dollars)
• Table 3-6: Top Marketers of Packaged Fresh Spinach by IRI-Tracked Sales and Shares, 2003 (in millions of dollars)
• Table 3-7: Top Marketers of Refrigerated Side Dishes by IRI-Tracked Sales and Shares, 2003
• Table 3-8: Top Marketers of Refrigerated Pasta by IRI-Tracked Sales and Shares, 2003 (in millions of dollars)
• Table 3-9: Top Marketers of Refrigerated Appetizers/Snacks by IRI-Tracked Sales and Shares, 2003 (in millions of dollars)
• The Competitive Situation
  
• Mergers and Acquisitions Reshape Market
• Consolidating Brand Names
• Ready Meals and Side Dishes Add Value and Brand Cachet to Commodity Products
• Marketing Trends
  
• Homestyle Foods
• Ethnic and Regional Flavors
• Package Sizes Accommodate Different Family Sizes, Channels
• Some Marketers Focus on Non-Supermarket Channels
• New Product Trends
  
• Ready Meals & Side Dishes
• Fully Prepared Quick-Heat Entrees
• Refrigerated Dinner Kits
• Jumping on the Deli Bandwagon
• Lunch Kits Go Healthy
• Refrigerated Pasta
• Meal Components
• Value-Added Meats, Poultry, and Seafood
• Prepared Fresh Produce
• Bagged Salads Go Upscale
• Packaged Salads Get Even More Convenient
• Value-Added Veggies
• Fresh-Cut Fruits
• Advertising and Promotion Trends
  
• Only a Handful of Major Advertisers
• Advertising Positioning
• Retail and Internet Trends
  
• Focus on Supermarkets
• Supermarket Delis
• Focus on Warehouse Clubs
• Focus on Convenience Stores
• Focus on Natural Food Stores
• Focus on Vending Machines
• Focus on Mass Merchandisers and Drugstores
• Focus on the Web: E-Commerce

• Chapter 4: Competitive Profiles
  
• Competitive Profile: AFC (Advanced Fresh Concepts) Corp.
  
• Corporate Background
• Product Range
• Competitive Profile: Chef Solutions, Inc.
  
• Corporate Background
• Competitive Profile: Dole Food Co., Inc.
  
• Corporate Background
• The Packaged Salads Leader
• Competitive Profile: Foster Farms
  
• Corporate Background
• Convenience Products
• Competitive Profile: Fresh Express Farms
  
• Corporate Background
• The Prepared Salads Leader
• Competitive Profile: General Mills, Inc.
  
• Corporate Background
• Lloyd’s Refrigerated Meats
• Competitive Profile: Hormel Foods Corp.
  
• Corporate Background
• Beyond SPAM
• Hormel Heat-and-Serve Entrees
• America’s Largest Turkey Processor
• Jennie-O So Easy Refrigerated Quick-Heat Entrees
• Competitive Profile: Kraft Foods, Inc.
  
• Corporate Background
• More than 50 Major U.S. Brands
• Oscar Mayer Keeps Reinventing Itself
• Lunchables a Continued Success
• DiGiorno Refrigerated Pasta Sales Plunge as Market Chills
• Trouble with Dinner Kits
• Philadelphia Bagels and Cream Cheese
• Competitive Profile: Monterey Pasta Company
  
• Corporate Background
• Product Lines
• Acquisitions a Key Growth Strategy
• Competitive Profile: Reser’s Fine Foods, Inc.
  
• Corporate Background
• Product Lines
• New Products and Acquisitions
• Competitive Profile: Sara Lee Foods
  
• Corporate Background
• Jimmy Dean and Rudy’s Farm Sausage and Bacon
• Hillshire Farm Deli Testing Recipe Ready Products
• Sara Lee Rolling Out its Own Brand in Deli
• Competitive Profile: Smithfield Foods, Inc.
  
• Corporate Background
• Quick-Heat Meat Entrees Under Several Brands
• New Ready-Meals Division Formed
• Competitive Profile: Tyson Foods, Inc.
  
• Corporate Background
• More Than Just Chicken
• Tyson Leverages Its Brand Name to Value-Added Beef and Pork

Chapter 5: The Consumer

• Demographics
  
• Note on Simmons Survey Data and Tables
• Product Usage Rates
• Purchasing Patterns
• Age Patterns
• Ethnicity a Strong Determinant
• Regional Skew to the Midwest, Except for Refrigerated Pasta
• Socioeconomic Levels Vary by Product and Brand
• Larger Households More Likely to Use Ready Meals and Side Dishes
• Table 5-1: Adult Purchasers of Ready Meals and Side Dishes, 2003 (% of U.S. households)
• Table 5-2a: Purchasing Indices for Ready Meals and Side Dishes: By Age Bracket of Purchaser, 2003 (U.S. adults)
• Table 5-2b: Purchasing Indices for Ready Meals and Side Dishes: By Age Bracket of Purchaser, 2003 (U.S. adults)
• Table 5-2c: Purchasing Indices for Ready Meals and Side Dishes: By Age Bracket of Purchaser, 2003 (U.S. adults)
• Table 5-2d: Purchasing Indices for Ready Meals and Side Dishes: By Age Bracket of Purchaser, 2003 (U.S. adults)
• Table 5-3: Purchasing Indices for Ready Meals and Side Dishes: By Ethnic Group, 2002 (U.S. adults)
• Table 5-4: Purchasing Indices for Ready Meals and Side Dishes: By Region, 2003 (U.S. adults)
• Table 5-5: Purchasing Indices for Ready Meals and Side Dishes: By Educational Attainment, 2003 (U.S. adults)
• Table 5-6: Purchasing Indices for Ready Meals and Side Dishes: By Employment Status, 2003 (U.S. adults)
• Table 5-7a: Purchasing Indices for Ready Meals and Side Dishes: By Household Income Bracket, 2003 (U.S. adults)
• Table 5-7b: Purchasing Indices for Ready Meals and Side Dishes: By Household Income Bracket, 2003 (U.S. adults)
• Table 5-8: Purchasing Indices for Ready Meals and Side Dishes: By Marital Status, 2003 (U.S. adults)
• Table 5-9: Purchasing Indices for Ready Meals and Side Dishes: By Household Size, 2003 (U.S. adults)
• Table 5-10: Purchasing Indices for Ready Meals and Side Dishes: By Presence of Children by Age, 2003 (U.S. adults)

Chapter 6: Looking Ahead