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B. HENDLEY, Cogent Consultants, Management Consultant, United Kingdom

The phenomenal development and growth of the market for chilled prepared meals and other foods in Europe and particularly in the UK was initiated and is still driven by the major food retailers rather than by manufacturers.

Chilling is a food technology that is trusted by consumers (unlike many other food technologies) and is recognised as offering high quality foods and prepared dishes as good as home-made or the best restaurants. The range of products suitable for chill preservation is effectively limitless and the benefits in terms of variety, quality and convenience can command higher prices and attractive margins. The key to its successful exploitation was the chill chain and retailers held the key.

By establishing an effective chill chain to ensure that the product is handled with care and speed, at the correct temperature through manufacture to point-of sale, the retailers were able to claim the sector for their own brands. The sector is dominated by retailers' own brands with hardly a manufacturer's brand in sight. New sub-sectors continue to be introduced and development across the whole sector continues at a frantic pace. Manufacture is largely by suppliers who have no brands of their own; major brands play virtually no part.

An account of the technical, market and consumer factors involved in this important development is given.