For fifty years, home cooking has been in constant decline. For what? For what?
Figures from Innova Market Insights show that globally, three in five consumers eat ready-made meals at least once a week. One in five consumers choose ready meals more than once a day. These numbers are increasing.
Innova Market Insights spokesperson claims that a net growth of 3.1TP3Q was observed in the consumption of convenience foods globally. The fastest growing countries are India and Indonesia.
As with other trends, the younger generation is driving this change.
A spokesperson for Innova Market Insights confirms that growth in ready meals is largely driven by young demographics. They also note that higher income groups have a significant influence.
Why do consumers choose the convenience of cooking?
Since the dawn of time, people have enjoyed dining out at restaurants and cafes, a great way to escape the kitchen and enjoy a night out on the town. But it is only relatively recently that ready meals have become a reality: takeaway meals, meals prepared meals and meal kits. This variety appeals to consumers. What are the main reasons for switching from home-cooked meals to convenient foods?
Unsurprisingly, the former definitely is. Time saving. In the past, one member of the family worked and the other took care of the household. Today, both spouses tend to work, leaving less time for household chores like cooking.
Innova Market Insights reports that a fifth of consumers worldwide say they seek out convenient food and beverage products because they don't have enough time to prepare meals.
When consumers choose to cook at home, a third choose convenient products such as pre-shredded cheese to add to the process.
Many consumers are choosing simpler recipes to reduce the effort needed to cook at home.
Isabelle Shilling is a research analyst at Mintel. She told FoodNavigator that “home cooks prioritize convenience. 73 % of them prefer recipes with short ingredient lists and 64 % choose dishes that only require a single pan or tray. This reaffirms that convenience is a key selling point for shortened products.
Meal kits also encourage consumers to cook more at home. They provide the exact ingredients and instructions, creating a hybrid between cooking and convenience. Let’s call it “cooking”…, or not?
Statista's business intelligence platform estimates that global meal kit market revenue will reach approximately US$20.65 billion by 2029.
FoodNavigator reported that “we can see a general trend toward more convenience.” A HelloFresh SE spokesperson confirmed this. Our global data shows that most of our customers prefer to cook for 30 minutes or less. Cooking at home is still relevant due to the growing demand for a balanced, fresh and healthy diet. Our meal kit brands are developing quick recipes to follow this trend. Some markets want consumers to be able to prepare recipes in less than 10 minutes.
As mentioned earlier, ready meals are a way to save time. Enjoy the entertainment. Cooked meals can be a great way to have a good time, whether it's a night out at a restaurant or a night at home. Treat yourself to a treat.
As the popularity of convenience foods increases, many consumers still prefer to prepare most of them, if they don't cook all of their own meals.
Learn more about the convenience food industry
- First coffee: The Encyclopaedia Britannica states that the first café opened in Constantinople in 1550. The rest of Europe caught up a century later, when Italy, France and Germany opened their doors. their first coffees.
- First Restaurant:The first restaurant opened in Paris in 1765. A. Boulanger owned the restaurant which served soup. The sign above his door announced “restaurants” or “restaurateurs,” referring to soups and broths.
- First cooked dish:He's not as old as you think. The concept of ready meals is actually several millennia old. Evidence shows that food was eaten on the move as early as Pompeii during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79CE.
Some consumers prefer cooking over convenience
Cooking at home is often associated with more time, less fun and less healthy than eating out. However, cooking yourself has some undeniable advantages. Cost reduction. The cost of cooking at home is cheaper than eating out or ordering takeout because you only pay for the ingredients.
Consumer perception of homemade foods as more nutritious is another major factor. You can learn more about this by clicking here..
Shilling, Mintel's Shilling: “The main reason to cook meals from scratch is that they are healthier. »
Growing concern over the safety of convenient foods has been exacerbated by their increasing popularity and availability. Concern about ultra-processed foods.
Shilling adds that 42% of home chefs say their concerns about ultra-processed foods have led them to cook more at home than a year earlier. If this issue continues to attract media attention, meal components such as processed meats, meat alternatives and cooking sauces will come under increased scrutiny.
It is also important to note that many people cannot read. enjoy cookingIt is an integral part of any process.
How can retailers and food producers benefit from this convenience food trend?
What can retailers and food producers gain from the ready-to-wear trend in terms of promoting their products?
Making home cooking easy is the best way for food producers and retailers to lure consumers away from convenient foods.
Mintel's Shilling suggests that emphasizing on packaging and marketing that only a small number of ingredients are needed to prepare a complete meal can help meet consumers' desire for convenience. Placing meal components in stores, such as recipe packets or together on shelves, is another way to show how easy it is for home chefs to prepare a delicious dish using just a few ingredients.
It is important to directly address consumer concerns about ultra-processed foods.
Hui says there's a chance that preservative-free frozen foods or less-processed versions will gain popularity.
He highlights the need for food producers to move towards clean label foods, and that it is important to identify when a particular product carries a clean label.
What does “clean label” mean?
Although there is no official definition of clean labels, the idea is to make a product with as few ingredients as possible and ensure that those ingredients are ones that consumers recognize. Ideally, these ingredients will be those that the consumer would use to cook at home.
English 
French