Tightened household budgets are resulting in increased expenditure on food to be eaten at home as consumers turn away from more expensive eating options found in restaurants, according to analyst insight by Euromonitor.

The market research company believes well-established trends, such as demand for ethnic cuisine and premium lines, will continue their expansion across most regions, particularly in developed markets.

Global retail value sales of ready meals are predicted to grow only marginally in 2010 in constant terms, down slightly on growth registered in the previous year (1 per cent). This slowdown will be partly due to downward pressure on prices in mature categories like frozen ready meals.

The recession, however, will still play an important role in the overall growth of the category as consumers cut back on outdoor outings to restaurants and stay longer at home. As a result, retail volume sales of ready meals will grow by almost 2 per cent in 2010 at global level, compared with the 1% registered in the previous year.

Six markets, the US, Japan, the UK, Germany, France and Russia, account for around 75 per cent of total retail global value.

Chilled ready meals continue to be the chosen option of busy professionals with little time for cooking but still seeking the freshness offered by refrigerated meals, particularly in developed economies.

Their relatively high prices, however, will slow demand at global level, with retail volume sales growing by a mere 1 per cent in 2010.