The frozen food market - Belgium (2023)

1.1 Presentation and definition

Freezing is a process that involves rapidly lowering the temperature of a foodstuff, chilled and health, up to -18 °C core temperature . Freezing, a similar but less efficient process, offers slower cooling.

There are several techniques to freeze a product:

• Contact freezing reserved for thin feeds (e.g. filleted fish, is made by introducing a feed between two plates in which a fluid circulates at -35 °C).
• The forced air circulation technique, more suitable for small products such as vegetables, consists of placing the products in tunnels where very cold air (-35 °C) circulates at very high speed.
• The Immersion Method adapted to products with irregular shapes, which consists of immersing the food in a fluid at very low temperature such as liquid nitrogen.
• Individual Freezing or IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) consists of immersing the food in a liquid gas. It is more expensive and more suitable for fragile products.

The global frozen food market is expected to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 5% until 2025 Europe represents the main regional market for frozen products due in particular to the significant weight of germany The sector is also important for Belgium, which is the largest producer country The company is an exporter and re-exporter of frozen vegetables in Europe. The Belgian market cannot really be assessed solely on the basis of its internal expenditure, the the amounts imported and especially exported being considerable .

However, the market is facing a difficult context, marked by the market maturation and the relative consumer disinterest for the frozen ones. The strategy of the dominant players must evolve towards an increased diversification of their offer to increase sales volume.

The main companies present on the Belgian frozen food market are Carrefour , Leclerc , Picard or Thiriet .