Unlocking Growth: Why the UK Frozen Food Market Is a Goldmine for Retailers, Restaurants & Takeaways
How On The Rocks helps food businesses turn frozen into long-term profits
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❄️ Introduction: A Cold Category That’s Heating Up Fast
In today’s cost-sensitive, fast-paced, and delivery-driven food world, UK food businesses are under pressure like never before. Labour costs are up. Customer expectations are shifting. And supply chain delays can spell disaster — especially for independent restaurants, takeaways, and retailers.
Enter: frozen food. Once dismissed as a low-value, last-resort category, it’s now one of the fastest-growing, most profitable parts of food retail and foodservice.
According to the British Frozen Food Federation, UK frozen food sales surged past £8.5 billion in 2023, up in both value and volume. Driving this are categories like ice cream, frozen meals, multipacks, and free-from innovations.
🔍 The Insight?
Retailers and foodservice operators who treat frozen as an afterthought are missing out. Those who optimise their frozen strategy – and partner with the right supplier – can transform their margins, simplify operations, and delight customers.
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🚀 The White Space Opportunity: What the Data Tells Us
Let’s look at what’s fuelling this frozen renaissance:
🍦 Ice Cream: A £3.7 Billion Category That’s No Longer Seasonal
Unilever reports that UK ice cream is now worth £3.7 billion and rising, driven by premiumisation, handheld formats, and year-round snacking occasions. In fact, 20%+ of annual sales now happen in colder months.
Handheld and branded multipacks are surging — worth over £408 million in symbols and independents alone (source).
Quote from Unilever:
“Frozen desserts offer retailers a high-margin, low-waste way to increase average basket spend with very little space.”
🥘 Frozen Ready Meals, Meat, and Savoury Food See Strong Growth
According to Kantar, the strongest YoY growth has been in frozen meat, poultry, ready meals, and savoury pies.
Consumers are trading down from fresh – but not compromising on quality. The perception of frozen has shifted dramatically, aided by better NPD, cooking ease, and food waste concerns.
Quote from KPMG:
“Frozen food has shifted from backup to first choice thanks to improved quality, sustainability, and convenience.”
(source)
The Market Gaps: Why So Many Businesses Still Miss Out
Despite huge category growth, most independent retailers and foodservice businesses are still not capitalising fully on frozen. Why?
❌ Missed Revenue from Stockouts
Late deliveries. Unreliable supply. Poor range depth. Many UK takeaways and corner shops are missing up to 3%–5% of potential weekly revenue simply because they run out of frozen lines too early.
A recent IGD report confirms that supplier unreliability and lack of category support are major blockers to profitability.
❌ Labour Pressure and Operational Complexity
Hiring skilled kitchen staff is harder than ever. But frozen desserts and meals offer a “plug & play” format — minimal training, portion control, less waste, and reduced labour needs.
Just Eat data shows restaurants can increase their average order value by £1.50–£2 just by adding a frozen dessert to their menu.
❌ Lack of Category Expertise from General Wholesalers
Most wholesalers treat frozen as a side offering — meaning poor merchandising, no advice on bestsellers, and no help with range planning.
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🧊 How Frozen Can Transform Retailers and Foodservice Operators
Whether you’re a high-street takeaway, convenience store, or growing restaurant brand — frozen can unlock serious gains:
✅ Boost Your Margins
With high-margin items like branded ice creams and frozen meals, your profits improve – especially when you eliminate waste.
✅ Grow Sales Without Extra Labour
Frozen snacks, multipacks, and pre-portioned options reduce kitchen effort. There’s no chef required, and no complicated training.
✅ Serve Customers Year-Round
Frozen offers all-weather stability. Handheld ice cream and comfort meals sell well across seasons, even in winter.
✅ Minimise Food Waste
Frozen = longer shelf life = fewer bin days. More cash stays in your tills, not your bin.
✅ Increase Convenience & Add-on Sales
Frozen snacks, desserts, or side dishes easily fit into baskets or delivery orders. Easy for customers, easy for you.
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🧠 How On The Rocks Helps You Win the Frozen Opportunity
At On The Rocks, we’re a specialist frozen food and ice cream supplier built from the ground up to serve retailers, takeaways, and restaurants.
We’re not just dropping off tubs and hoping you re-order. We partner with you — offering a supply model built around your actual needs
Why Customers Choose On The Rocks:
🚚 7 Days a Week Deliveries — Even After 4PM
We know most of our clients do stock takes after-hours. That’s why we operate flexibly and reliably — so your freezer’s never empty.
❄️ Frozen-Only Fleet — With Quality Control Built In
Every vehicle is built for frozen. That means perfect product integrity, no thaw-and-refreeze risk, and consistent presentation.
📦 Stock That Moves — Not Just Sits
We help you choose products that sell. Multipacks. Premium lines. Low-calorie SKUs. All with proven rate of sale data.
📊 Up to 17% Sales Growth
Our existing customers have seen sales boosts of 10–17% after switching their frozen food and dessert supply to On The Rocks.
🤝 A True Business Partner, Not a Box Dropper
We help with NPD, seasonal opportunities, POS display, and much more. You’re never on your own.
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Case Study Snapshots: Real Results from UK Operators
- Urban Chicken Shop, East London
“After switching to On The Rocks, our dessert sales jumped 23%. The biggest game-changer was being able to get Sunday evening deliveries — something no one else offered.”
- Family-Owned Convenience Store, West Midlands
“We always struggled with our multipack range. On The Rocks helped us streamline SKUs and double our weekly frozen revenue within 3 months.”
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🔚 Final Thoughts: The Time to Act Is Now
The frozen food category is booming in the UK — but too many independents are still missing out due to poor supplier support, unpredictable service, or lack of product knowledge.
On The Rocks exists to change that.
Whether you want to test a few SKUs, overhaul your range, or finally get reliable stock delivered on your terms — we’re ready.
👉 Message us today to trial a delivery. No risk. No long contracts. Just a fresh approach to frozen that works for your business.
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