The popularity of ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook foods has risen over the last few years, with the busy lifestyle, shifting food preferences and need for convenient meal options contributing to the trend. Comfort is key to the prepared meals and their importance has risen over the years due to the demand for a convenient meal option. The aim of this study is to better understand the effect of perceived freshness and ingredient transparency on consumer confidence, which will enable food manufacturers to enhance product quality, communicate with the consumers in an honest manner and build consumer trust. The purpose of conducting this study is to examine the relationship between perceived freshness and consumer trust in ready-to-cook meals. The data analysis technique employed in this study was the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique that was applied to the SmartPLS software. The results show that perceived freshness and consumer knowledge about ingredients have strong positive correlations with consumer trust. The study emphasizes the need to keep the product fresh and offer transparent information on the ingredients as part of the strategy to increase customer confidence and trust in ready-to-cook products.