News

The five frozen food trends expected to reshape the US market in 2025

The future of frozen food is being shaped by the preferences of younger generations who, compared to their older counterparts, are more likely to embrace bold flavours, global cuisines, and adventurous options.

American frozen food marker, Conagra Brands, with a portfolio of leading brands including Birds Eye, Gardein, Healthy Choice, and P.F. Chang’s Home Menu, has released five trends it expects will dominate the frozen food scene in 2025. Conagra Brands’ 2025 trends – part of its Future of Frozen Food Report – were gathered by combining data from market research company Circana, food intelligence company Tastewise, and Google search trends sourced from Similarweb.

Trend # 1: Modern health

Fifteen million Americans, or 6% of the US adult population are purportedly using GLP-1 medications.

This boom has been reflected in wider macro trends. For example, one of Mintel’s global food and drink trends for 2025 is ‘fundamentally nutritious’. Mintel predicts that as GLP-1s gain attention, consumers' focus will shift toward food products that can address daily nutritional needs, particularly those that offer satiety and are packed full of essential nutrients.

Conagra expects this trend to penetrate the frozen foods aisle in 2025, with single-serve meals and frozen foods with probiotics and nutrient-dense ingredients targeted at GLP-1 users to take up more space in the supermarket.

Brands are already tapping into this trend. In 2024, Nestlé launched its GLP-1 Nutrition initiative, and Vital Pursuit, a frozen product line tailored to the nutritional needs of GLP-1 users.

Conagra also expects better-for-you frozen desserts to gain traction this year, driven, in part, by the growing popularity of plant-based. According to Circana data, these frozen treats appeal to younger generations: 17% of Gen Z and 47% of child-free Millennials are more likely to purchase non-dairy and vegan frozen desserts.

Trend # 2: Elevated in-home experiences

As in-home dining occasions rise, consumers are looking toward recreating the flavours and excitement of restaurant meals.

In response celebrity-inspired frozen meals have been popping up in recent years. In August 2023 celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay launched a range of eight frozen dinners in Walmart, just two months later TV personality and James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Zimmerman launched a frozen entrée (main meal) line.

Conagra expects this trend to continue, demonstrated by its 2024 announcement of an exclusive licensing partnership with Dolly Parton to develop a line of retail food items, which includes frozen mac and cheese, and a chocolate pie.

Trend # 3: Global cuisine

Cuisines from across the world continue to grow in popularity among consumers, which has resulted in a growing number of new products launched that lean into various cuisines.

Italian, Chinese, and Mexican cuisines continue to take up the largest chunk of the frozen food aisle in the US, however, the highest growth comes from Indian, Japanese, and Cajun cuisines.

Japanese cuisine leads in popular online search trends. Top searches include katsu, udon, and teriyaki.

There are however generational differences when it comes to how experimental consumers are. Gen X and Boomers are most likely to prefer American dishes while showing a small amount of interest in Chinese cuisine. Younger consumers on the other hand are more likely to purchase frozen meals with Indian, Thai, Mediterranean, and Cajun flavours.

Frozen varieties of street foods from across the world are also growing in popularity. The fastest-growing global street food is bao buns, which grew 583% in sales between October 2022 and 2024. Tacos grew by 53%, followed by samosas (32%), empanadas (31%), and dumplings (18%).

Trend # 4: Bites & minis

Frozen bites and minis are popular among younger generations and families with young children. Consumption has increased 31% year over year. The top-growing category, frozen seafood bites, experienced a 50% growth year over year, while chicken bites grew 21%.

In a time where protein content has become a more salient feature on products and one that consumers are increasingly interested in, protein-based bites, including steak and chicken, experienced double-digit Google search volume growth.

In addition, bites and minis are no longer relegated to the appetizer category, with 84% now being eaten as meals, especially around the breakfast table, where egg-based bites are growing in popularity.

Trend # 5: Spice & heat

Younger generations are calling for hot and spicy flavours, for example, Gen Z consumers are 48% more likely to purchase spicy frozen meals than the overall consumer base.

Sales of hot honey - honey infused with chili peppers – have skyrocketed, growing 74% in 2024, compared to 2023. These increased sales reflect the uptick of ‘swicy’ (sweet + spicy) product launches, described by CNN in 2024 as “the hottest trend in food right now”.

Global influences such as gochujang, gochugaru, and chilli crisp have also been trending on social media, rising in both visibility and sales. Standout dishes catching the interest of consumers include spicy beef bulgogi and spicy dan dan noodles.

Cost-of-living crises forces global frozen food brands to innovate

While Conagra’s trend report points to the main influences on the US frozen food market in 2025, another phenomenon is also set to have an impact: the cost-of-living crisis, which continues to grip many consumers across the globe. Purchasing habits are shifting as a result of this.

Discussing the changing frozen food landscape in light of the cost-of-living crisis, John Davidson, managing director of JS Davidson, a UK-based temperature-control specialist, said his company is witnessing significant market growth in response to market demand.

Davidson explained that the cost-of-living crisis has led to a noticeable decrease in household budgets, and consumers, in response, have been forgoing fresh produce for cost-effective frozen food products.

Brands are noticing and responding to this too. Global launches of frozen foods have been on the up, rising 7% between 2019 and 2024, according to Innova Market Insights.

The cost-of-living crisis is only partially responsible for this growth. Innova’s research shows that 43% of global consumers prefer at-home dining, and frozen cooking solutions appeal to their desire for enhanced home cooking.