Knorr’s successful recipe feeds expanding trend of tiny meals
Knorr is using its flavour expertise to tap into a global trend for mini meals, which are becoming a favourite for time-strapped consumers looking for food that delivers great taste with minimum effort.
The €48.8 billion ready-to-heat food sector that includes products like instant noodles, pasta and rice pots is predicted to hit over €66 billion by 2028 (source: Euromonitor 2024, dried soups and dried ready meals).
The growth of this category, which already represents more than €500 million for Unilever, is being driven in part by younger millennial and Gen Z consumers looking for quick meals that deliver great taste in minutes.
In Europe, under 35s are spending 50% more on instant noodles than the rest of the population on average (source: Europanel Snacking Review 2018).
“The younger generation views food differently,” says Marcelo Morishito Costa, mini meals global innovation manager.
“They want fast, convenient and often all-in-one solutions that still deliver on taste and nutrition. Knorr Mini Meals tick all the boxes which is why they are often an entry-level product for new consumers.”
Tapping into the mini meal trend, Morishito Costa says Knorr Mini Meals are in tune with the demands of this growing market.
Knorr notes the whole sector is growing, with the ambient ready-to-heat segment doing so at an exceptional pace in Europe.
In the last five years, instant noodle block sales have increased by 7% in Europe while noodle pots have grown by 4.9%, according to Euromonitor (source: Euromonitor 2024, dried soups and dried ready meals).
Euromonitor research suggests mini meals’ popularity surge in Europe is due to lifestyle.
20% of people asked said they don’t have time to cook. 16% said that they don’t know how to cook well and 15% said they would rather spend their time doing something else (source: Euromonitor Top Five Trends Shaping the Industry, 2024).
Unilever is tapping into this demand through Power Brands like Knorr, as well as with more local brands like Pot Noodle, the UK’s top-selling instant hot snacks brand, and Amino in Poland.
The results are promising elsewhere, with strong mid-single digit growth in markets where Unilever has launched mini meals, most notably Germany, Poland, Pakistan, the US and India.
Part of this success can be linked to Knorr successfully marketing products that match local tastes and trends.
In India, for example, the Spicy Kimchi and Black Bean K-Pot varieties tapped into the recent growing trend for all things Korean with impressive results, seeing sales more than double in India between 2023 and 2024.
Similarly, the brand innovation team has been sensitive to preferred cooking methods, using the microwave prep method cooks prefer in the US but opting for the boiling water method to align with cooking preferences in other countries like India.
Going forward, Knorr will continue to serve consumer needs by expanding and enhancing its Mini Meal portfolio from the first point of contact on shelf to the moment of consumption.
“Mini meals offer us an exciting opportunity for growth,” says Morishito Costa. “And with technology allowing us to speed up the development of new products, we are looking forward to rolling out more flavours to more markets.”
