Convenience and specialty foods are becoming more popular in India due to changing socioeconomic conditions. Convenience foods save time and include frozen, shelf-stable, ready-to-eat, and ready-to-cook options. Specialty foods are unique, high-quality foods made in small quantities. While some convenience foods lack nutrition, balanced options can be part of a healthy diet. Both convenience and specialty foods are influenced by social, economic, and cultural factors and represent growing market opportunities in India.

1. Nutritional, Social And
Economic Aspects of
Convenience And
Speciality Foods
Presented By- Tanya Thakur

2. Convenience food is a concept that is prevalent in the developed world since long, while its
inception into the Indian market has been recent. With the changing socio-economic pattern of life
and the increasing number of working couples, the concept is fast becoming popular in Indian
market. This type of food is becoming popular because it saves time and labour. This food has
extended shelf-life and is available off the market shelves.
Packaged/ convenience food products sector has been slow in penetrating the large potential
presented by Indian 250 million strong middle class. But due to growing urbanisation and changing
food habits, the demand has been rising at a good pace and there is enough latent market potential
waiting to be exploited through developmental efforts.
Convenience Foods

3. Frozen Convenience
Food
Shelf-Stable
Convenience Food
Types Of Convenience Food

4. ● Ready-to-Eat (RTE) and Ready-To-Serve (RTS) food - e.g.
Idlis, dosas, pav bhaji, meat products like pre-cooked sausages,
ham, chicken products, curries, chapattis, rice, vegetables like
aloo chole, navratan kurma, channa masala etc.
● Ready-to-Cook food – e.g. instant mixes like cake mixes,
gulab-jamun mix, falooda mix, ice-cream mix, jelly mix,
pudding mix etc., pasta products like noodles, macaroni,
vermicelli etc.
Shelf Stable Convenience Food

5. Nutritional Aspects

6. ● Processed snack items with very low nutritional value such
as potato chips and candy, makes up the great majority of
convenience foods. Boxes of ready-to-eat cookies and
crackers made with excess amounts of sugar, salt, and fat
line many grocery store shelves.
● Canned baked beans could be served with whole wheat
toast, a salad, sliced oranges, and a glass of milk to make it
a more balanced meal. The vitamin C in the oranges can
help the body better digest the plant-based protein of the
beans. The whole wheat toast adds even more fibre than
what the beans have, and the milk provides calcium.
● If convenience foods are eaten in moderation in reasonable
portion sizes, they may be a part of an overall healthy diet.
Many nutritionists note that a convenience food meal can be
made healthier by making it more balanced.

7. Social Aspects

8. ❖ Influence of social class
➢ What people eat is formed and constrained by circumstances that are essentially social and cultural.
➢ Problems that face different sectors of society,
➢ Requiring different levels of expertise and methods of intervention.
❖ Cultural influences
➢ Cultural influences lead to the difference in the habitual consumption of certain foods and in
traditions of preparation
❖ Social context
➢ Social influences on food intake refer to the impact that one or more persons have on the eating
behaviour of others
➢ Social support can have a beneficial effect on food choices and healthful dietary change.
❖ Social setting
➢ The venue in which food is eaten can affect food choice, particularly in terms of what foods are on
offer.
➢ The availability of healthy food at home and 'away from home' increases the consumption of such
foods.
➢ The influence of work on health behaviours such as food choices is an important area of
investigation.

9. Economic Aspects

10. ● India saw rapid economic growth fuelled by economic reforms during
the period 2004 to 2007. FDI inflow increased and GDP growth was at 8-
10 per cent during the period.
● With its vast population base, growing middle class and strong macro-
economic environment, the Indian market has seen processed food
emerge as the one of its fastest growing segments.
● Rapid lifestyle transformation, particularly in urban areas, has resulted
in a dramatic increase in the demand for processed, packaged and
ready-to-eat food products.
● The main impact of urbanisation has created a growing demand for
convenient products. Ready meals products regarded as a convenient
alternative to cooking from scratch.
● Packaged soup also benefited, instant noodles became an increasingly
popular snack or meal component, with sales thus growing by 24 per
cent.

11. ● A specialty food is a food that is typically considered as a “unique and high-value food
item made in small quantities from high-quality ingredients.
● Consumers typically pay higher prices for speciality foods, and may perceive them as
having various benefits compared to non-speciality foods.
● Compared to staple foods, speciality foods may have higher prices due to more expensive
ingredients and labor.
Speciality Food

12. These foods are rich in:
● Fiber
● Protein that is low in fat and cholesterol-free
● Vitamins like folate, thiamin, niacin, choline
and pantothenic acid
● Minerals like magnesium, calcium and iron
● Polyphenolic antioxidants

13. Nutritional Aspects

14. ● Full of protein and fibre
● Help achieve recommended daily vegetable servings
● Lean, cholesterol-free, meat alternative
● Full of beneficial nutrients
● May make products eligible for nutrient-content claims
● Industry's widest selection
● No taste sacrifice
● Non-allergenic, non-GMO, gluten-free
● Convenient handling and storage

15. Social Aspects

16. ● Functional food is eaten for specified health purposes, because of their (rich) content of
one or more nutrients or non-nutrient substances which may confer health benefits.
● Probiotic food as a functional food claimed to be beneficial to health by restoring
microbial balance in the intestine.
● Weaning Foods is specially formulated for infants aged between 3 and 9 months for the
transition between breast- or bottle-feeding and normal intake of solid foods.
● Also, diet cokes are available that are specially designed for people who want to lose
weight.
● Hence, speciality food is the specially designed for special purposes or special people.

17. Economic Aspects

18. ● The specialty food industry represents more than $60 billion in U.S. sales.
● Eighty percent of specialty foods and beverages are sold through retailers,
including supermarkets, natural food stores and gourmet shops.
● Specialty food accounts for 15.9 percent of all retail food sales.
● Consumers ages 18 - 34 are most likely to purchase specialty foods.
● Specialty food sales in natural food stores grew 17.4 percent in 2008 versus
2007.
● Cheese and Cheese Alternatives is the largest specialty food category, with
$3.4 billion in sales in 2008.
● There were 2,349 new product introductions in 2008, with significant growth in
chocolate, confectionery products, desserts, ice cream and alcoholic
beverages.

19. Conclusion
● Convenience food, or tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially
prepared to optimise ease of consumption.
● A specialty food is a food that is typically considered as a “unique and
high-value food item made in small quantities from high-quality
ingredients.
● Speciality foods are rich in fiber, protein that is low in fat and cholesterol
free, vitamins like foliate, thiamine, niacin, choline and iron and minerals
like magnesium, calcium and iron.
● Consumers ages 18-34 are most likely to purchase speciality foods.

20. THANK YOU!