Breakfast foods vary widely from place to place, but often include a carbohydrate such as grains or cereals, fruit, vegetables, a protein food such as eggs, meat or fish, and a beverage such as tea, coffee, milk or fruit juice.
As a result of the organised efforts of domestic and global players, the breakfast items have come now to include cereals, energy bars, fresh dairy products and fruit juices. Because of these forays, the breakfast cereal category almost doubled between 2003 and 2006. Estimated at a modest Rs 2.5 bn, the market includes cornflakes, muesli, pancakes, oatmeal and porridge. It is growing fast not only because of macro factors, such as acceptance of packaged food and rising household incomes but also because companies have become innovative. The market is estimated to be growing annually up to 30%, and with modern retail providing new recipes of the contemporary products, Indian and Western, a strong wave of growth is anticipated.
The current domestic breakfast market is worth $65 billion. In eight years it is predicted to swell in value to $83 billion.
The instant pasta market estimated to be valued at Rs 5.5 bn and growing at 15%, has some major players, such as Nestle, Indo Nissan Foods, and International Best foods.
Pasta is versatile for making both comfort and gourmet dishes. Spaghetti and macaroni are the two most popular types of pasta in the U.S. Since 2009, there were many new products launched with convenient and easy-to-cook options. This encouraged manufacturers to introduce various chilled/fresh pastas featuring diverse flavours. Pasta consumption is more common in households with children, where usage is particularly high for packaged dried/chilled or fresh pasta (used by 73% of households with children, as opposed to 57% of those without) and canned/preserved pasta.
The overall size of the snack food market is estimated at Rs 45 to Rs 50 bn. The market is reported to be growing at 7 to 8 % annually.
According to the report, Europe is the largest global snacks market in terms of value, with the United States and Latin America as other significant markets. The Asia Pacific snacks foods market will post the highest growth rates, at 6% per year until 2015.
The snack foods market contains many global players as well as regional private label companies, including General Mills, ConAgra Foods, Group Danone, Kellogg Company, Kraft Foods, Nestle, Nabisco, PepsiCo, Walkers Snack Foods and many other snack food manufacturers.
