Europe Soup Market Summary 2025
Market Size in 2024: USD 3.0 Billion
Market Forecast in 2033: USD 3.8 Billion
Market Growth Rate 2025-2033: 2.8%
Europe soup market reached USD 3.0 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach USD 3.8 billion by 2033, reflecting a 2.8% compound annual growth rate. The steady rise is supported by chilled convenience formats, plant-protein innovations and the continued popularity of soup as an affordable, low-waste meal solution across diverse climatic regions.
Growth Drivers Shaping the European Soup Market
EU School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme Expansion
The European Commission allocated EUR 220 million in 2024 to broaden the School Scheme to include ready-to-eat vegetable soups, allowing member states to distribute chilled or frozen portions in place of raw produce. Germany, France, and Romania have already incorporated low-sodium minestrone into weekly menus, reaching 3.8 million pupils. Suppliers must meet strict salt and additive limits, prompting reformulations that use pulse proteins and natural umami ingredients such as tomato paste and yeast extract. The guaranteed institutional offtake encourages processors to install aseptic pouch lines capable of 40-thousand-litre daily output, creating a stable baseline demand that complements retail sales and smooths seasonal vegetable supply gluts.
Extended Producer Responsibility for Plastic Reduction
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, entering into force in 2024, obliges soup brands to cut virgin plastic use by 25% by 2030. Several leading processors responded with monomaterial polypropylene pouches that contain 30% chemically recycled content and are compatible with existing PP recycling streams. Retail scanner data show that SKUs displaying the “Made for Recycling” logo gained 12 percentage points of shelf space in German supermarkets during the first half of 2024. Light-weight pouches also reduce freight weight by 37% versus steel cans, cutting transport costs and Scope 3 emissions. As converters scale up recycled resin capacity, the unit cost premium is projected to fall below 5%, making sustainable packs an industry standard rather than a niche offer.
Chilled-Chain Investment and Discount Channel Acceptance
Discount chains Aldi and Lidl expanded chilled capacity by 18% in 2024, installing 1,200 new refrigerated cabinets that accommodate fresh soups with a 30-day shelf life. The move follows Commission-funded studies indicating chilled soups retain 25% more vitamin C than ambient equivalents, aligning with Nutri-Score communication strategies. Processors are leveraging spare dairy-plant cooling infrastructure to co-pack soup during off-peak hours, improving asset utilisation and lowering overhead per litre. Lower retort temperatures and shorter cook times also enhance flavour profiles, allowing premium positioning at discount price points and accelerating household penetration without margin dilution.
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Europe Soup Market Segmentation
Analysis by Type
- Canned/Preserved Soup
- Chilled Soup
- Dehydrated Soup
- Frozen Soup
- UHT Soup
Analysis by Category:
- Vegetarian Soup
- Non-Vegetarian Soup
Analysis by Packaging:
- Canned
- Pouched
- Others
Analysis by Distribution Channel
- Supermarkets and Hypermarkets
- Convenience Stores
- Online Stores
- Others
Analysis by Country
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- France
- Italy
- Spain
- Netherlands
- Others
Competitive Landscape:
The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players.
Europe Soup Market News
- In May 2024, the European Commission approved a EUR 40 million investment to expand chilled soup production lines in Germany and France under the EU Agriculture Fund for Rural Development.
- A major UK retailer introduced a fully recyclable monomaterial PP soup pouch in July 2024, eliminating aluminium layers and cutting packaging weight by 35%.
- The German Ministry of Food and Agriculture added low-sodium vegetable soups to the national School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme in August 2024, targeting 1.2 million pupils.
- A Netherlands-based cooperative launched a beetroot and pea protein chilled soup in June 2024, claiming a Nutri-Score A rating and 30% lower carbon footprint than meat-based varieties.
- Retail scanner data published in July 2024 showed that chilled soup sales in discount chains grew 14%year-on-year, driven by expanded refrigerated shelf space and competitive pricing.
Key highlights of the Report:
- Market Performance (2019-2024)
- Market Outlook (2025-2033)
- COVID-19 Impact on the Market
- Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
- Strategic Recommendations
- Historical, Current and Future Market Trends
- Market Drivers and Success Factors
- SWOT Analysis
- Structure of the Market
- Value Chain Analysis
- Comprehensive Mapping of the Competitive Landscape
Note: If you need specific information that is not currently within the scope of the report, we can provide it to you as part of the customization.
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