Packaged Meals For Television Viewers Popular In America

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27695, 27 June 1955, Page 14

Packaged Meals For Television Viewers Popular In America

A “television dinner” consisting of a pot roast of beef with gravy, parsley, buttered potatoes, and peas, and costing 75 cents, is one of the latest developments in a “built-in kitchen service” in packaged foods in the United States. The frozen dinner is packed in “heat and £nrve” aluminium foil with divided trays, and is designed to allow the ardent television viewer the opportunity of dining without missing his favourite programme., Another meat-packjng firm is offering the consumer packaged frozen uncooked meat specialties such as buttered beefsteaks, moulded to sandwich size and packed four two-inch portions to the package. The cartons contain simple cooking instructions and such features as a full colour photograph illustrating serving suggestions. These developments are reported in the latest issue of “Industrial Bulletin,” published jointly by the Department of Industries and Commerce and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.

In the United States any prepared foodstuff is well on the way to success if the claim can genuinely be made that it reduces domestic work and if it is offered for sale through an accentable and established channel, the bulletin says. A spectacular example has been pre-cooked frozen fish sticks, of which production increased seven-fold in 1954. Because of fish sticks, the association of fish and fat and frying pans no longer exists for many American housewives. “Processors of quick frozen seafoods are perhaps as firmly esconced as any on the ‘convenience’ of foods band waggon. Virtually any fish fillet can be bought in a 11b standard pack. Frozen breaded shrimp has been on the market for several years, and little need be said for the growing taste for frozen

lobster tail, now a big New Zealand dollar-earner. “Growing consumer acceptance of these products is largely the result of improved packaging and handling methods, although advertising, too, has played a very important part. There would be little -'oint in a widespread advertising campaign for fresh fish but pack your frozen cod or snapper in a neat 11b package, add a colourful wrapper, the name of a well-known processor, a catchy slogan, and you have all the ingredients for a television, radio, or newspaper advertising campaign.” In a somewhat different field the hotel and restaurant trade is turning increasingly to frozen “portion-cut” meats because of the cost and timesaving advantage that pre-cut meats have through improved inventory cantrol, storage space economy, quality, and flavour protection, and preparation and serving speed, the bulletin says. The growth of pre-packaging and pre-preparation of foodstuffs in the United States has been truly remarkable. and there must be bright prospects for those who are catering tn this new t4ste. The field may well offer possibilities for New Zealand products such as pre-cut and consumer packaged frozen meat. One of America’s best-known food packers and keen students of consumer psychology some time ago discovered that the customer was more attracted to the picture on a package than he was to the manufacturer's name, says the bulletin. Butter carton manufacturers have the same idea. A firm in Wisconsin, for example, offers butter cartons on which the dominant features are mouth-watering pictures of steak, waffles, toast, pancakes, and baked potatoes, all, of course, suitably garnished with butter.