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Freezer shelf in a supermarket in Berlin: boom especially at the beginning of the pandemic
Photo: Christoph Soeder / dpa
In the corona crisis, people in Germany resorted to frozen food significantly more often.
In 2020, supermarkets, discounters and delivery services sold 7.5 percent more food from the freezer than in the previous year, said the industry association, the German Deep Freeze Institute.
Potato products, vegetables, fish and ready-to-eat meals were particularly in demand, and the industry recorded double-digit growth rates.
Baked goods increased by nine percent.
"In the first phase of the corona crisis in particular, consumers avoided shopping aisles as much as possible and at the same time liked to stock up on long-lasting food," said the association.
The proportion of those who use frozen goods several times a month has risen significantly, it said, citing a survey by the association.
The frozen food industry has been growing for years.
According to her, every German consumed an average of 46.9 kilograms of frozen food in 2019.
A total of 3.83 million tons were sold, with the companies generating sales of 15.4 billion euros.
This year, however, there is no reason to cheer for many companies.
Because they usually do more than half of their business in the out-of-home market - for example with canteens, restaurants, leisure and fast food outlets.
There are significant sales losses here, it said.
A balance sheet should be presented in spring.
"The lockdown in spring, the lockdown light in November and the new lockdown before Christmas and the uncertain prospects of how things will continue in 2021 are draining the reserves and nerves of companies," the association said.
"If more people work from home more often in the future, this will have an impact on the catering options at the bakery, at the train station and in the canteen," it said.
Companies would have to respond to this with new products and concepts
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