Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day as it replenishes our body’s energy after an all-night fast. A healthy breakfast significantly improves mental and physical performance of both children & adults. Essentially Breakfast should be low in fat, cholesterol and high in vitamins & minerals.
Breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often eaten as the first meal of the day. It is eaten hot or cold, usually mixed with milk and sometimes yogurt or fruit.
Based on types
- Wheat
- Rice
- Oat
- Corn
- Barley
Based on application
- Hot breakfast cereal
- Cold breakfast cereal
Among the variety of breakfast cereals, the available options are
- Cornflakes
- Choco flakes
- Wheat flakes
- Oat flakes
- Muesli
Nutritional Aspects of Breakfast Cereals
- Typically low in fat
- Good source of fibre and whole grain
- Taken with milk, a good source of calcium
- A major contributors of vitamins and minerals to the diet
- Lower in sugar than other breakfast alternatives
- A small contributor to salt intake
- Nutrient dense but not energy dense
- Quick and Easy
MARKET AND GLOBAL TRENDS
The market is characterized by the growing demand for ready-to-eat breakfast cereals. Due to increasing health issues of highly processed food products, the need for the consumption of cereals are important. Hence, the changing lifestyle and the booming food industry have driven the demand for these ingredients.
In 2013, rice and wheat breakfast cereal ingredients accounted for a major share in terms of value of the total breakfast cereal ingredients market. The steady increase in demand for quick, yet healthy products is projected to increase the market share in terms of value of these ingredients by 2019.
North America formed the largest segment of the breakfast cereal ingredients market in 2013. It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 1.8% over the projected period. Asia-Pacific is estimated to be the second-largest market due to an increase in the demand for processed food in the region. It is also projected to gain the fastest growth during the same period.
TRENDS
Breakfast cereals witnessed current value growth of 25% in 2014. The primary consumers for breakfast cereals continued to be urban consumers. This was because urban consumers prefer a fast arrangement for breakfast due to their lifestyles, and breakfast cereals, especially flakes, provide exactly that. Hence, flakes, and particularly corn flakes in India were very popular for exactly this reason in 2014.
PROSPECTS
Breakfast cereals is expected to grow by a value CAGR of 13% at constant 2014 prices during the forecast period. This will be driven by muesli, which is expected to grow by a value CAGR of 17% at constant 2014 prices. Muesli was still relatively new in India, and consumers received it really well. Hence, the growth opportunity for the same is very high, as its retail distribution and availability both were still nascent.
GLOBAL BRANDS AND OTHER MAIN PLAYERS IN INDIAN MARKET
- Kellogg’s
- Nestle
- Godrej
- ITC food
- Pepsico (Quaker oats)
- Marico saffola
- Murginns
- Tasty Treat
- Bagrry’s
- Mohun’s
- Go! Healthy
- Mum’s
- Tops
- Savour
- Haldiram
- cremica
MARKET SIZE IN INDIA
Rs 600 cr.in 2013
Double digit growth over the next 5 years is expected as per market survey
Popular categories
Cornflakes 300 crs 50%
Oats 200crs
Museli 70 crs
PACKAGING REQUIREMENTS OF BREAKFASTCEREALS
These products are basically highly sensitive to Moisture. Moisture ingress results in softening and microbial spoilage. Below certain levels of moisture they are fragile and brittle.
Packaging material options for breakfast cereals
Polypropylene
Polyethylene –high density
Polyethylene –low density
Aluminium Laminates
Outer duplex board carton
Polyester
BOPP-Metalized
CPP
PACKAGING OPTIONS
CLASSIC CEREAL BOXES
We’ve grown accustomed to boxed cereals — they’re easy to stack and display — but we might have grown to accept the design for so many years because that’s what we’re used to.
PRINTED FLEXIBLE LAMINATED POUCHES
Multi-colour printed best quality Flexible Laminated Material in various combination of materials like Polyester, BOPP, CPP, Metalized-Polyester, Metalized BOPP, Aluminium Foil, Paper, Polyethylene, etc. for breakfast cereals.
Features
Best quality packaging materials at most competitive price
Prompt and accurate delivery with excellent logistics support to even very remote locations.
QUAD SEAL BAG
The QSB is designed to offer better functionality and dynamic, eye-catching packaging for products in-store. The QSB format gives a square box type appearance and allows products to stand up on shelf for excellent point-of-sale appeal and stands rigid to prevent theproduct being crushed.
Additionally, four surface areas offer a larger communication surface, with the square shape of the bag providing excellent space utilization for retailers.
STAND UP BAGS
Due to the stand-up feature and flat ‘fold over bottom’ provides superior in-store merchandising and branding that is visible no matter which way the retailer stacks the bags.
The stand-up bag eliminates the need for the box and uses less packaging material than the bag-in-box style, resulting in less waste and ensuring that consumers have access to key nutrition information that previously appeared only on the box which would be discarded after decanting. The packs are easy to hold and the desired amount of product can be poured out of the bag.
For brand owners, these packs offer another major advantage – bags no longer need to be removed from a box to be decanted into household containers, but can be stored in their original packaging – keeping the brand alive throughout the pack’s life.
Stand up pouches offer an eye catching, versatile, cost effective way to promote the products.
Re-sealable Packaging
New solution of resealable packaging for cereal market can help provide added consumer convenience and reduce the environmental impact as compared to traditional bag in box.
Features
Re-sealable zipper to maintain freshness
Easy open tear notch
Euro slot or punch hole
Rounded corners to avoid sharp edges.
The resealable bags are mainly made of polypropylene .The main advantage of using resealable bag is that it can be opened and sealed over and over again. You can do this repeatedly without having to worry about keeping it close some other way. Moreover it does not release any kind of harmful chemical and residues into the food on contact with it. Resealable flexible pouches had low energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions.
SINGLE SERVING PACK DESIGNS
Single serving packs are also introduced in market to feed those customers who want to try the product at an affordable price.
This package contains the right amount of oatmeal with added sugar and salt. The idea is to target a new audience that otherwise would not eat oatmeal, but also to those who are usually in a hurry in the morning and tend to skip today’s most important meal, breakfast. Break it fast and have a BREAK FAST!”
CONCLUSION
Still in Indian Context, the ready-to-eat-cereal market faces several challenges to boost the demand. Some of them are
Cultural factors and eating habits population not used to processed foods
Easy availability of low-priced traditional breakfast
Low awareness about processed foods and calorie requirements
Price sensitive customers
Busy life style is changing the food habits of individuals all over the world. In India, the consumers are waking up to the importance of healthy breakfast. The predictable growth over the next five year has a great future for breakfast cereal industry and hence packaging requirements of such products.
The trend toward flexible packaging includes the move towards more affordable and convenient packaging. Price sensitive customer has further pushed the demand of packaging material in form of small single serving packs. This has surely increase usage of packaging material per unit weight of products which is a good sign for packaging industry. Easy opening, storage and re-sealability are key convenience drivers. Flexible is the future of packaging in breakfast cereal industry.
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