TMI Foods is meeting the needs of the convenience revolution with its range of cooked ingredients.

“Rapidly changing but consumer lifestyles are affecting shopping behaviour,” said TMI’s Managing Director David Abbott.  “People lead fast-lane lifestyles, stay younger longer, want value for money and health and vitality.  They have little time, and there is a huge increase in eating out.”

A food-to-go revolution is underway, from food retailers such as Marks & Spencer to traditional fast food outlets like KFC and McDonald’s, with a relatively new generation of retailers such as Subway and Pret a Manger also attacking the takeaway market.

“People are better off and busier than ever before, making them less inclined to cook but more likely to eat healthily,” said Mr. Abbott.  “The proportion of families with two working parents has increased dramatically, and there are growing numbers of young, single, affluent professionals who simply don’t have the time or inclination to cook.”

He said that for the food industry, this had led to a rising demand for healthier, ‘fresher’ foods, a surge in the market for ready-made meals and a need to constantly engage consumers with exciting new products. 

“Cooked ingredients products like ours are essentially becoming components on a production line,” he said.  “The kitchen at home is now much more a place for assembly than cooking, and what we are producing gives the consumer more time and convenience.”

April 2006

<Back