Instant food and sandwich materials benefit from the crisis

Mega-manufacturers with a variety of brands (like Kraft and Nestle) are benefiting from the recession as at-home dining is on the rise – says a London-based consumer market research firm Mintel.

 The so-called sweet spreads–jams, jellies and peanut butter–are forecast to grow 26% by 2013. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are perfect for brown bag lunches, and also feed into the need for comfort food in rough times. If you can't cook but need to eat at home to save money, frozen entrees, canned goods, and other easy-to-prepare dishes are convenient and less expensive than dining out. Frozen meals jumped 4.5% last year, and side dishes like beans and mac and cheese grew more than 5%–also attributed to the "comfort food" factor. It hits the spot when people are "feeling at home or feeling miserable," says Patterson. With more people brewing at home, retail coffee products grew 6% last year. With more people staying at home, hosting at home, and renting DVDs, salty snack consumption was expected to rise 4% last year, but actual figures are coming in closer to 6%.